ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — Does Jacksonville have a prostitution problem behind the doors of seemingly legitimate businesses? It's a question some are asking following two prostitution busts at 2 massage parlors just within the last week.
Ocean Massage in Atlantic Beach was one of those shutdown last Thursday following a police sting operation.
Business owners in the area don't want to say too much publicly about the prostitution arrests out of fear of possible physical retaliation from people involved with illicit business. However, off camera many of them echoed the same sentiments, that Ocean Massage was a relatively new business that didn't seem to mesh with the other upscale businesses in the plaza.
One of those upscale businesses is Rainbow Shades, they sell designer sunglasses and part-owner Jeremy Convery tells First Coast News that these arrests don't seem to be slowing down business in the plaza at all.
"Basically the parking lot is full every day," says Convery, "this is prime real estate in Atlantic Beach. I believe they are shut down now, but with this being prime real estate there's 10 other businesses ready to take their spot."
Both of the women arrested at Ocean Massage in Atlantic Beach were charged with offering, committing or engaging in prostitution. For more details on exactly how the sting went down, clink on the related story below.
Some of the other business owners said that even a week after the arrests were made some men were seen waiting outside the door of Ocean Massage.