Owner of raided massage parlor appears before judge

The owner of the central El Paso massage parlor raided by federal agents yesterday came before a judge today.

In Soon Kim was brought before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norbert Garney to learn the charges against her.

Kim was brought into the courtroom alone so they could proceed using a Korean translator.

The translator spoke to Kim through a telephone receiver.

Kim is charged with inducing or coercing individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution, according to Garney.

Essentially, she is accused of luring employees to Texas to work as prostitutes.

Kim faces 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

She was also appointed a public defender this afternoon.

Kim listened to the judge, and remained emotionless.

She did ask if she could go home following the proceedings, but she was told she will remain in jail until her next hearing.

That hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 23, at 11 a.m.

Yesterday, Kim’s massage parlor, Kyoto Hot Stone Spa, was served a search warrant by federal agents.

The raid was part of an ongoing investigation, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson.

ABC-7 was on the scene during the investigation and saw more than a dozen agents patrolling and searching the area.

The ABC-7 I-team looked through county records and found a former owner of the spa is linked to an address in Las Cruces where agents raided another massage parlor last summer.

Three women were indicted on prostitution-related charges in that case, but the owner was not.