A jury quickly acquitted a Chicago woman Monday of a prostitution charge that rose from her work at an East Peoria massage parlor. Only two witnesses, Xiong and the undercover police officer who accused her, testified about what transpired May 13 at the Asian Body Works parlor at E.
Washington St. Xiong, who speaks virtually no English, used a Chinese translator and descriptive gestures to relate her story of the mid-morning encounter with the officer posing as a customer. After the officer testified he disrobed completely and was offered no towel to cover himself during the massage, Xiong described how she put one over him, only to watch him toss it to the floor as he lied on the massage table. Xiong, who said her husband of 20 years and two children still live in China, had come from Chicago to work at the parlor only 11 days before her arrest.
No evidence regarding who hired her was presented. She was the second person arrested for prostitution at an Asian Body Works parlor in central Illinois within six months. Using a similar sting operation, Galesburg police arrested a woman in December.
No record of whether that arrest produced a criminal charge could be found Monday in Knox County Circuit Clerk files. Digital access or digital and print delivery. It was a simple case that produced a short but a unique trial. Follow Michael Smothers at Twitter. Site Archive.
