Massage Parlor Owner Appears In Court For Preliminary Hearing

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. March, 19, 2014

A Franklin man arrested in connection with a prostitution case in Nashville appeared before a judge in a preliminary hearing to determine if there was enough evidence for the case to move forward.

Peng He, age 41, was arrested on March 13 at his home in Williamson County. He was in court Wednesday to face a judge in regard to charges of sex trafficking and promoting prostitution.

He has been accused of running a sex business out of his Green Hills massage parlor. It was one of four businesses raided by Metro Police in mid-February. The raids led to prostitution charges for seven women. Three more were charged with promoting prostitution.

An undercover Metro detective said He paid for ads on BackPage.com saying his business, Golden Massage, has attractive women offering "table showers," which the detective testified is a prostitution slang term for pleasuring a man.

Inside the business' massage rooms, crime scene investigators found a lot more than lotion or oils.

"They pulled out a UV light and put on some type of glasses and they looked for fluid splatter. They then showed me the fluid splatter throughout the room, including the carpet and on the walls," the detective testified.

Prosecutors said He had more than $300,000 in safety deposit boxes and his Franklin home, where the same three women arrested at Golden Massage last month were living with basically nothing.

He's attorney said there was no proof of prostitution.

"There's no evidence in this record before this court that there was any non-consensual activity," said Defense Attorney Richard McGee.

The judge ruled there was probable cause that Peng He broke the law and ordered the case to the Davidson County Grand Jury.

He faces Promoting Prostitution, Trafficking and Money Laundering charges.