City Putting Massage Therapists to the Test

COSTA MESA — Long troubled by illicit massage parlors, this Orange County city is turning to a novel weapon to drive prostitutes out of town:

A multiple-choice quiz.

Costa Mesa officials unveiled a plan last week to begin testing massage license applicants on their knowledge of the human body, massage techniques, laws, first aid and ethical conduct. Ideally, trained technicians will pass, and anyone else will fail.

“The word ‘massage’ was stolen from therapists, and it’s time we took it back,” said Myk Hungerford, chancellor of the American Institute of Massage Therapy in Costa Mesa, who is helping the city devise the test.

Resorting to a quiz underscores the city’s frustration. Law enforcement officials contend that some of the 45 licensed massage therapists working at 22 Costa Mesa massage parlors offer a lot more than back rubs and that sting operations and background checks have fallen short in the fight to eliminate the thriving sex trade.

In the last year, police arrested about 15 people in connection with illegal sexual activity. Undercover investigators posing as clients were routinely used to make the arrests, but prostitutes often know better than to offer sex. And police, by law, can’t directly solicit it because that would be entrapment.

“They’re very savvy. They’re just as savvy as street prostitutes, but they have this facade of legitimacy because they have buildings and signs,” said Costa Mesa Police Lt. Ron Smith. Then there’s the health risk involved. One undercover officer came down with a nasty rash after spending time in unsanitary environs, Smith said.

A second benefit of testing, some say, is that it may force out unqualified practitioners.

“We are going to have more educated therapists providing better service for the public,” said Cynthia Ribeiro, director of Western Institute of Neuromuscular Therapy in Laguna Hills.

But not everyone agrees with a city-sponsored quiz. Many Orange County massage technicians dislike the decision, saying the industry, not the city, has the expertise to regulate itself, and municipal law is unfairly punishing them for the illegal acts of others.

They would prefer that the city use the National Certification Examination for Therapeutic Massage and Body Work, an industry standard, instead of developing its own test.

“The national exam is a known quantity; we know what we’re getting,” said Neha Curtiss, co-director of the Healing Hands School of Holistic Health in Laguna Hills and Escondido. “Here, we don’t know what we’re getting.”

Harold Stokes, an attorney who sometimes represents massage therapists in disputes over city laws, prefers a countywide ordinance that would unify regulations in Orange County’s 31 cities.

“What we have here, I believe, is the vice department, the Police Department, moving into uncharted waters,” he said. “I don’t think they have the experience or expertise to do it.”

There also was division on the Costa Mesa City Council, which approved the test Monday. Casting the sole dissenting vote, Councilwoman Heather K. Somers called for more information on the national exam.

Test supporters say properly trained technicians have nothing to worry about.

The exam will cover the basics, and consultants from various massage specialties will be asked to offer suggestions in writing for the 100 questions, city officials said.

“The tibia is the tibia, no matter who you are and what area [of massage] you practice,” Smith said. “Regardless of the style, the need to administer first aid and recognize preexisting medical conditions exists. A lot of people look at it as just getting a back rub, but the actual therapy part of it is much deeper. Somebody who’s using it as a guise for prostitution wouldn’t have that kind of knowledge.”

Newport Beach already has fought this particular battle. Police officials there say the city once reigned as Orange County’s massage parlor capital. Then city officials upped education requirements for massage therapists to 500 hours and introduced a written exam.

“We sent a lot of them to Costa Mesa and other parts of the county,” Newport Beach Police Sgt. Mike McDermott said.

Newport Beach’s requirements withstood a legal challenge by practitioners, who filed a lawsuit claiming the regulations prevented them from making a living. The city won the case.

Other Orange County cities don’t have local tests, but they have varying requirements for licenses. Los Alamitos, Newport Beach and Yorba Linda require 500 hours of training. In Tustin and Santa Ana, it’s 1,000 hours.

Costa Mesa officials say they are concerned mainly about health and safety.

Customers seeking out prostitutes may be willing to take risks, but police fear that innocent clients might pick up diseases.

For stressed-out clients who simply want a back rub, Smith warned them to avoid establishments that advertise with suggestive photos. “You wouldn’t expect your physical therapist to refer you to something that says, ‘Double your fun: Two blonds will massage you.’ ”