Helena massage parlor operator sentenced to prison for sex trafficking

Her defense argued that Yu herself was a victim of sex trafficking, and she was manipulated by Miller. Yu met Miller working at Sunshine Sky Massage in Helena where she provided sexual favors to him, according to her defense attorney.

At the sentencing, Abbott said that while he believes Miller exploited several vulnerabilities of her situation, Yu was motivated by money and had agency to make her own decisions.

“Although I recognize it might have seemed difficult, I do not agree that Ms. Yu had no choice but to work in one of these businesses or run one of these businesses,” Abbott said.

As part of a plea agreement, Yu entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not need to acknowledge their guilt. However, Yu admitted she was aware that Oasis Massage was a house of prostitution between June 2023 and June 2024, and that if a trial were held, she would likely be found guilty.

The investigation into the business began in spring 2023 when the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation’s Human Trafficking Unit and a Homeland Security Investigations Task Force officer noticed a new massage parlor had opened, according to documents and statements at the plea hearing.

The parlor, which was located on the 1500 block of Cedar Street, shared a phone number with a massage parlor that was previously shut down after DCI served warrants on it.

That September, the DCI agent received reports from Helena Regional Airport’s TSA director that the same older, white male — later identified as Miller — was seen picking up and dropping off several young Asian women. Each time, the women had thousands of dollars with them as they left.

About a month later, Miller got into an altercation with a TSA agent as he and Yu were attempting to fly to New York with $50,000 in cash. He later gave conflicting statements about the money’s origins and purpose, according to the affidavit.

Helena police received several reports over the next few months from patrons of the massage parlor that they were offered, and sometimes received, sexual favors from various Asian women.

Over the course of several searches, agents found used condoms, bedding and cleaning wipes in the business’s trash can, as well as suppositories, condoms and lingerie hidden inside the parlor. After searching Miller’s home, agents seized $36,000 in cash that seemed to be for transportation, according to the affidavit.

In interviews with investigators, Miller claimed that the women just worked for him and Yu, and that he provided them with rides, food and other toiletries, but had no knowledge of any sexual activity inside the parlor.

Yu’s sister also worked at the parlor, according to court documents. In interviews with investigators, she said she moved to Montana from New York and engaged in sexual acts with men for money.

According to her, the first half of the money earned for each service went to the business, and Yu charged employees, including the sister, $40 a day to live there. Another employee said she would make $20 on each $80 massage.

Yu told investigators that she owned the business but said she was unaware of any sexual activity occurring there. She said she sometimes lived with Miller, but often stayed at the massage parlor.

Lewis and Clark County Attorney Kevin Downs said evidence showed there were people coming to the massage parlor at all hours of the day to receive sexual favors.

Miller, 72, was sentenced to 10 years in the Montana State Prison with five years suspended for felony sex trafficking. The sentence, delivered by Abbott in March, also included a $5,000 fine.

“It’s particularly aggravating that the women that are caught up in this are economically and socially vulnerable,” Abbott said at the sentencing. “People in positions of power in these businesses exploit their questionable legal status in this country to coerce them into essentially a form of slavery.”