Karl Etters

Democrat staff writer

A Tallahassee massage parlor employee has been charged with solicitation of prostitution after offering to perform sexual acts on an undercover sheriff’s deputy.

Jing Zhong, 50, an employee at the Jade Massage Parlor on Williams Street in Midtown, was arrested Wednesday and bonded out of the Leon County Jail Thursday morning.

The Leon County Sheriff’s Office has received complaints from residents suspicious that prostitution was going on at the parlor.

An undercover officer went to the parlor and paid for a 30-minute, $50 massage. Shortly after it started, court records say, Zhong pointed at the deputy’s genitals, simulated masturbation with her fist, and asked if he wanted a sexual massage for an additional $50.

Zhong was arrested on site after investigators said she made the offer to perform sexual acts for payment.

LCSO spokesman Lt. Grady Jordan said there was no indication human trafficking was taking place at the parlor.

Alexa Kleinbard and her husband Jim Roche live within eyesight of the business. She said during the spring, traffic at times would go in and out of the parlor as late as 1 or 2 a.m.

Kleinbard said she was disappointed to hear about another arrest at the parlor.

“We were concerned about what was going on there at all hours of the night,” she said. “I was hoping they would have cleaned the place up. This a neighborhood with children who walk around. I don’t think it’s appropriate for that to be here in this neighborhood.”

Jade Massage Parlor employees have been arrested in stings in the past.

In March, another female employee was arrested during a similar operation. She was ordered to complete a diversionary program.

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.