MONTREAL - Bright neon signs that simply read 'massage' have become a fixture in Montreal in the past decade, but while they bill themselves as legitimate businesses, what happens behind closed doors is anything but. Many massage parlours -- not to be mistaken for legitimate therapeutic clinics -- are now brothels, and they have sprouted up in almost every neighbourhood.
An undercover operation by CTV Montreal visited a dozen massage parlours chosen at random. Diane Matte and her group CLES Against Sexual Exploitation have been tracking the explosion in the number of massage parlours in Montreal as part of their work to fight sexual exploitation. You know, no one is questioning the idea that men can go to a massage parlour and buy sex acts," said Matte. What's openly marketed as harmless stress relief for men, and a private transaction between consenting adults, is sometimes anything but.
Jenny not her real name , was an adult when she worked in six different erotic massage parlours, and she says there were definitely underage girls having sex with johns. Montreal police Commander Ian Nantuoni says that ever year, police investigate up to cases of underage girls working as prostitutes, including in massage parlours.
Another prostitute, Noemi not her real name , was a year-old runaway when a pimp lured her into prostituting herself in the back room of a strip club. They bought everything for me. They were paying to do my nails, my hair, tanning salon, and clothes," said Noemi. You don't decide at that point. You have no control," said Noemi, who ended up returning to her group home. Police say young women from other countries are being brought to Montreal and sexually exploited.
In one case a young Chinese woman was lured to Montreal thinking she'd get an education. She ended up giving erotic massages to pay for her flight and room and board. Controlled and scared, these girls didn't speak French or English, all sitting on a mattress. It's not the nicest image I've seen. Part Two of this series looks at efforts to stop sexual exploitation, and what girls need to know to avoid being lured into the sex trade. It airs Tuesday at 12 and 6 p.
