Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wisc., rented space to unlicensed masseuse suspected of prostitution: report

Democratic Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin rented property to a masseuse whom police previously investigated for prostitution and human trafficking, according to reports.

The proprietor, Chunyan Yang, in 2013 operated a South Dakota massage parlor. Police investigated the parlor on suspicion that females were were being held there "against their will," according to The Washington Free Beacon. Following the police inquiry, Yang pleaded guilty to practicing massage without a license.  

In 2018, Yang became the registered agent of a Wisconsin-based spa that reportedly was advertised on RubMaps, which USA Today calls "Yelp for sex spas." Yang allegedly rented the office space from Kind, paying him up to $50,000.

Kind defended Yang in a May statement, saying that any criticism of her business is a "baseless, defamatory attack against an Asian woman-owned small business," according to Fox News.

Kind blamed the spa's advertisements appearing on RubMaps on Google's algorithms, saying the ads "get attached to various sites that the small business has no control over." Google told the Free Beacon that the tech giant "does not run Google ads" on illicit sites and "prohibit[s] content that promotes compensated sex acts."