JUPITER, Fla. _ Authorities have arrested a third woman accused of prostitution at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, according to a town police report.
Lei Chen, 43, is facing one felony county of deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution and eight misdemeanor counts of offering to commit prostitution. Chen remains in the Palm Beach County Jail where she was being held Monday morning in lieu of $5,000 bail.
Chen is the 28th person arrested in connection with the Jupiter spa.
Twenty-five men, including New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, are facing charges that they solicited sexual acts at Orchids of Asia, at Indiantown Road and U.S. 1. Two women _ Hua Zhang and Lei Wang _ allegedly ran the Jupiter spa and are facing dozens of felony and misdemeanor charges. Zhang owns the spa and Wang worked as the business's manager, according to authorities.
The arrests were part of a four-county sting that law enforcement authorities, including Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, said appeared to be connected to human traffickers. Assistant State Attorney Greg Kridos said during a court hearing Friday that no one connected to the Jupiter spa would face human-trafficking charges.
It was not immediately known why Chen was not arrested until Saturday. The State Attorney's Office has previously said that spa employees engaged in prostitution could be treated as victims instead of criminals if they cooperated in prosecutions of those who ran the spas.
Police said Chen was caught on surveillance camera video covertly installed at the spa providing a sexual act to eight men from Jan. 18 to Jan. 21.
The police report lists Chen's address as a condominium that belongs to Zhang, the Orchids of Asia owner, and a man not implicated in the sting. Jupiter Police Chief Daniel Kerr and Martin County Sheriff William Snyder have filed a joint forfeiture action to obtain the condo. Investigators allege the home, near the beach in Jupiter, was purchased with money obtained through illegal activity, namely prostitution.
