Baltimore County police charged a 48-year-old Reisterstown woman yesterday with violating the county's new massage parlor law by allowing nude massages.
This is the first time the county has charged a massage parlor under the law, which went into effect in November.
Acting on information obtained by undercover detectives, police issued a criminal summons to Nancy H. White, owner of Body Works/Nancy's Place in the first block of Hanover Pike in Reisterstown. Ms. White was charged with operating a massage parlor without a license, employing a minor as a masseuse and allowing nude massages, said E. Jay Miller, a police spokesman.
The law bans the massaging of any erogenous area of the body. The law also requires owners to obtain county licenses and says massage therapists should have 500 hours of training and certification or have 200 hours and be enrolled in a massage school.
Employees and license holders must undergo background and character checks under the law, which allows unannounced inspections by police.
County police pushed for the law, saying they didn't want the county to become a haven for massage parlor operators seeking refuge from regulation in surrounding jurisdictions, where the parlors sometimes have served as fronts for prostitution.
Mr. Miller said an investigation of Ms. White's business began after police received several complaints in January.
"People called to say there were several young women working there who were under-aged and giving massages topless," he said. "We have had complaints of other parlors but this is one we have been able to verify."
Mr. Miller said a vice detective scheduled a massage at the parlor with a 16-year-old female who went by the name of "Savannah." After the teen-ager explained the cost of various massage options, the detective chose a $60 topless massage that lasted 45 minutes, Mr. Miller said. The teen-ager was topless and the detective was naked during the massage.
The teen-ager was not charged and was sent home with her mother after questioning.
Ms. White could not be reached for comment.
Police have sent a copy of the report to the county Department of Permits and Licenses for further action, Mr. Miller said.
"We want to serve notice on massage parlor operators that we are initiating an accelerated inspection program of massage parlors under the new legislation," he said. "We are going to continue doing inspections at random."