Spa owner indicted in sex slave case

A Jackson County grand jury has indicted a woman accused of running a sex slave ring out of her massage parlor in the St. Martin community.

Yeon Sook Hwang, 41, of Biloxi, was arraigned Friday in Jackson County Circuit Court. She faces two counts of felony promoting prostitution.

Hwang owned and managed operations at JJ Spa and Massage parlor in a strip mall on North Washington Avenue in the St. Martin community. Officials have said the spa served as a front for a human trafficking and sex slave ring.

The multi-count indictment in state court stems from an investigation by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department and comes on the heels of a separate but parallel federal investigation.

Federal agents raided the spa and arrested Hwang in November. When the raid occurred, investigators found Korean women who had been forced into sex labor at the business. They lived there and were not allowed to leave. Food and water was brought in to them.

In June, Hwang pleaded guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. In exchange for her plea, federal prosecutors said they plan to dismiss the remaining charges of human trafficking and four counts of money laundering.

Judge Sul Ozerden set her sentencing for Sept. 1. Hwang is facing a maximum prison term of 20 years and up to a $500,000 fine on the federal charge.

Jackson County District Attorney Tony Lawrence would not comment on the state charges, saying only that he intends to move forward with the prosecution.

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Spa owner indicted in sex slave case."