State rests its case in Colorado Springs illicit spa trial

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- The state rests its case in the jury trial against an illicit massage parlor owner in Colorado Springs.

Xinan Xia, 56, is no longer facing two counts of Keeping a Place of Prostitution, but just one. However, the illicit massage parlor owner is still facing felony pimping, a single count of keeping a place of prostitution and pandering for prostitution. 

Prosecutors called Patrick Moore, a licensed Colorado Springs massage therapist, to the stand on Thursday as their first witness. Moore discussed the ethics of the massage therapist business, which include proper draping, no-go zones, and the ethics surrounding payment. 

Moore said areas that must be draped, including the groin area, or any area that the client wishes to be covered. 

“I always air on the side of caution,” Moore said on the stand on Thursday. “The more draping the better.” 

Moore said massage therapists are required to go through training on how to ethically drape the customers. 

When the defense asked Moore about “sensual massages,”  Moore reaffirmed that he provides therapeutic massages, and he steers clear from anything sensual or sexual.  

Moore referred to anything covered by drapes as "no-go zones" during a massage. The licensed massage therapists did tell the jury some zones covered by sheets are okay to massage so long as the therapist receives consent from the client. 

Moore says 90% of the time, payment and tips occur after the massage therapy session is complete. If he is ever offered a tip that is 100% of the price of the entire session or greater, Moore said he would turn it down.

The massage therapist said this is done to maintain a level of professionalism between himself and the client. 

During day two of the trial on Tuesday, an undercover detective testified that when he entered Rose Spa in July 2020, he was required to pay $35 upfront, and was non-verbally told by a female employee to pay an additional $50 for “extras” as the officer made a hand gesture. 

The undercover detective with the Colorado Springs Vice Unit said the Rose Spa massage therapist put her hands inside his butt cheeks without his consent.

When he was asked about his draping during the July 2020 massage, the detective said his genitalia area wasn’t properly covered. The CSPD detective described the towel he was given at Rose Spa to drape himself as "barely the size of a washcloth.” 

After the state rested their case Thursday, the defense called a single witness to the stand, a close family friend of Xia's from China. The witness implied that his girlfriend, who was a spa employee, was the decision-maker in the relationship. However, the witness told the jury she didn't know anything about Xia's massage business.

The defense will continue to make their own case to the jury Friday morning, as they call additional witnesses.

The jury is expected to begin their deliberations at some point on Friday.

Previous coverage:

Trial for alleged illicit spa owner in Colorado Springs begins

Former employee at Colorado Springs illicit massage parlor pleads the fifth