Kansas massage parlor owner pleads guilty to recruiting woman for prostitution

WICHITA, Kan. — A Wichita massage parlor owner pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to a charge of recruiting a Chinese woman to perform sexual services for money.

This guilty plea resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Wichita Police Department.

Ping Liu, 43, of Wichita, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted coercion and enticement to prostitution. In her plea, she admitted that during a phone conversation conducted in Mandarin Chinese she arranged for a woman posing as a job applicant from New York to come to Wichita to work at Q Massage in Wichita. Liu told the applicant that the job included providing sexual services to customers. Liu told the applicant she would pick her up at the Wichita airport. 

In her plea, Liu also admitted twice offering to perform sexual services for undercover Wichita police officers who came to the massage parlor posing as customers. 

Liu’s sentencing is set for Jan. 27. She faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.