Parlor comes under heat

Everyone likes a happy ending.

But this idyllic saying takes on an entirely new meaning when applied to a local massage parlor.

In fact, it might be a sad story for many young women.

Donna Bickford, director of the Carolina Women’s Center, gave a lecture Wednesday about sex trafficking, particularly as it relates to a longtime Chapel Hill location.

Officially called Tom Cat’s 2, although formerly known as All Girl Staff and University Massage, the business at 403 W. Franklin St. has had a mysterious history.

In 2007, Daily Tar Heel columnist James Edward Dillard wrote about his experience at University Massage, where he said he was offered sexual services in exchange for money.

Dillard wrote that he posed as a customer and selected a masseuse, who led him to a bare mattress in a back room.

He was asked to undress and was presented with rates for services including “a massage in a “special place.”

“Porno mags were on a bed stand. A sign directed customers to step into the shower and wash their ‘private parts’ before the massage,” Dillard wrote.

Police launched an investigation in response to Dillard’s article, but did not find evidence of sex trafficking.

A woman who answered the phone at the business Wednesday night said she could not comment.

In her speech Wednesday, Bickford said she would like to see the police revamp the investigation.

“We don’t know that there’s trafficking going on there, and we won’t know until it’s investigated,” she said.

The front door of the business on West Franklin Street used to read “University Massage.”

The store now displays a sign that says simply, “Open.”

Bickford said she thinks the police should do a comprehensive evaluation of the business, looking for evidence of other illegal activities, including money laundering, tax fraud and organized crime.

But Bickford cautioned students not to take matters into their own hands. She asked them to leave the law enforcement to the police and write to their state and national government representatives to convey their concerns.

Bickford said sex trafficking exists in the Triangle area.

“It’s underground and often invisible, but it’s hidden in plain sight,” she said.

Between 600,000 and 800,000 individuals are trafficked across international borders each year, Bickford said. She said most trafficking victims in North Carolina are brought from the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, Venezuela and Colombia. Eighty percent of the victims are women and children, she said.

“The average age of entry into prostitution is between 12 and 16,” Bickford said.

Victims suffer from psychological abuse as well as physical abuse, she said, adding that the problem is exacerbated by the fact that some victims don’t know where they are because of language barriers.

“The root cause is demand — the demand for women’s and children’s bodies for sex,” Bickford said.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.