Underground society in Colorado Springs frequents illicit parlors

KRDO is digging deeper into the underground society that’s frequenting Asian spas. It’s a deeply-connected community that hides behind a screen name.

Before our series started, this group started warning other members of “Rubmaps,” an online site that reviews erotic parlors, about our coverage.

We know prostitution won’t stop. But does that mean brothels should be operating in our own shopping centers?

A warning this content is adult-themed and not appropriate for everyone.

You may remember the ads, pictured above, that ran on TV promoting our series. The commercial clip caught the attention of a specific group online: members of Rubmaps.

As we’ve mentioned in previous reports, these men aren’t paying for a traditional massage.
They’re paying for sex. We know that because it’s all posted, very explicitly, on Rubmaps.com.

It’s graphic content, but we’re showing you because this is the reality.

In reviews of all 36 spas in greater Colorado Springs, men are boasting about the breast size, weight, and physical hygiene of these women, many of whom are being trafficked, held in these spas against their own will.

(GALLERY: Who owns massage parlors linked to sex trade in Colorado Springs)

You may remember Stephanie Sierra’s conversation with one worker at Rose Spa. “Do you leave?” Stephanie asked. “No leave, no leave,” the woman said.

Yet the people, mainly men, posting on Rubmaps somehow see humor in human trafficking.
In response to our coverage, users wrote:

Yet the reality is most of these women don’t see any money.

Just ask Julee Bellar, the chairman of the Human Trafficking Task Force of Southern Colorado.

“We’re not doing anything about it… maybe there’s just not that many people who care,” Bellar said.

That leaves these victims thinking: “What else is there for me?”

“That’s exactly the question,” said Bellar.

We can only hope our city will address that question.