Former Lawrence 'Spa For Gentlemen' Owner Sentenced To 7-9 Years In Prison
SALEM (CBS) -- A woman prosecutors say ran a brothel disguised as a massage parlor was sentenced Monday.
The Essex District Attorney's office said Lori Ann Barron was sentenced to seven to nine years in prison followed by five years of probation, and must register as a sex offender.
Barron was convicted in June of sex trafficking, deriving support from prostitution, and photographing an unsuspecting nude person.
Prosecutors said she operated the "Spa For Gentlemen" on Broadway in Lawrence, on the second floor of a busy, but nondescript string of stores.
Employees of the spa told police Barron was a master at recruiting troubled, desperate women, coercing them into sex acts with clients, and then blackmailing them with videotapes and threats to keep them working.
Those employees told police they made more than $1,000 a week, and that Barron had suitcases stuffed with cash.
Less than two years before she was arrested in Lawrence, prosecutors said Barron ran a New Hampshire weight loss clinic that she later admitted was a front for prostitution.
In addition to her sentence, Barron was ordered to surrender her massage license and barred from obtaining one during her probation, and ordered not to contact any of the victims or witnesses in the case.