logo
Lawmakers push for massage parlors to have more accountability and greater oversight

Lawmakers push for massage parlors to have more accountability and greater oversight

Yahoo10-03-2025

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Accountability and greater oversight, that's what lawmakers are hoping massage parlors will have, after seeing several cases throughout the state where some shops have promoted prostitution and human trafficking.
Story continues below
Albuquerque: Family speaks following lawsuit settlement for man shot by police
Don't Miss: Officials to give update on deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife
Politics: Three candidates have announced campaigns for Albuquerque mayor
Albuquerque police raided what they called an illegal massage parlor last July, after connecting the building to a website offering sex services. And while they charged a woman with promoting prostitution, the case has since been dismissed. Now legislators are introducing a bill to regulate how those businesses operate.
'Currently, there's no type of licensing process that offers protection or checks for what's happening in these businesses,' said Sen. Heather Bergmans (D-Albuquerque.)
The Massage Therapy Licensure Bill would put massage therapy establishments under the state's regulation and licensing department. 'With having an established licensure process and inspection process for these types of businesses, we can prevent human trafficking. And if that situation is happening, have another easier avenue for discovering that situation,' said Bergmans.
After being heard in the Senate Health and Public Affairs Committee, the bill faced some opposition. 'I think what's going to happen to some of these places that are probably operating doing nefarious activities is they're going to go to the home place,' said Senator Jay C. Block (R).
Since the bill currently excludes home-based providers, concerned legislators say the same illicit behaviors could continue under the radar.
But supporters offer a different perspective, 'We know that it's really important to legitimate professional massage therapists who do this in their home to not have to also have the burdens of regulating their home as if it is an establishment,' said Bergmans.
The bill was first introduced in the 2019 legislative session but was not passed. This year, with two weeks left in the session, supporters are hopeful it will be signed into law.
'If there is a situation of human trafficking, and someone is aware of that, they can always tip a police officer off or notify law enforcement in some way, but that's really the only way right now,' said Bergmans.
The Massage Therapy Licensure bill passed on a 6-4 vote and is headed to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Grocery store worker hands out semen-tainted yogurt; New Mexico Crime Files
Grocery store worker hands out semen-tainted yogurt; New Mexico Crime Files

Yahoo

time17 hours ago

  • Yahoo

Grocery store worker hands out semen-tainted yogurt; New Mexico Crime Files

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – First in 2021, police in the Four Corners area got a heads up about the stolen car heading into Aztec, NM. When police locate the vehicle, the driver, 22-year-old Elias Buck, refuses to stop and leads police at 70 MPH through residential streets. It wasn't over then. Buck escapes from jail while awaiting trial. The wild video of when police catch up to him in Kansas. Then, when a Bernalillo County deputy tries to locate the driver of a vehicle with expired registration and insurance at a gas station, the driver is nowhere inside. Deputies catch up to Rudy Gonzales across the street, but it's not his first run-in with the law. Gonzales' previous cases and the result of this police encounter. Finally, KRQE anchors Dean Staley and Jessica Garate bring you a disgusting situation a woman found herself in while shopping for groceries at an Albuquerque supermarket in 2011. The shocking results of what officers learned when they showed up to investigate Anthony Garcia and what he did to a customer's yogurt sample. About New Mexico Crime Files This is New Mexico Crime Files – Taking it from the streets, then to the courtroom, to finally answering 'where are they now?'. Each week, KRQE News 13 anchors Dean Staley and Jessica Garate bring you the notorious, the unforgettable, and the unbelievable crime stories from the Land of Enchantment. New Mexico Crime Files is sponsored by MedradoStruck Law Firm. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

VIDEO: Police interview suspects in fatal robbery involving teens in Albuquerque
VIDEO: Police interview suspects in fatal robbery involving teens in Albuquerque

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Yahoo

VIDEO: Police interview suspects in fatal robbery involving teens in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – KRQE News 13 is getting a look at what one of the teens involved in a fatal robbery in Albuquerque said to police after the incident occurred. It happened back in January, when a car full of teens tried to rob a couple, but the teens weren't the only ones armed, leading to one of them being killed. Story continues below News: Surveillance video captures crash involving off-duty officer that severely injured man Events: What's happening around New Mexico June 6-12? Albuquerque Pride Parade New Mexico Strange: Holy dirt and healing water: A look at NM's miraculous locations Jocelyn Sedillo, 16, spoke about what happened after hearing her friend, 14-year-old Alonzo Sanderson, had died. Police said back in January, he, along with 15-year-old Jeriah Salas, tried to rob a couple in a jeep at an apartment complex off Tramway Blvd. The driver of the Jeep opened fire, killing Sanderson. Police believe Salas shot the passenger who survived the attack. When asked about that night. He didn't have much to say, invoking the Fifth Amendment and asking for a lawyer. But Sedillo did shed some light on what happened. 'I don't know, we were all just drinking and chilling. I kinda blacked out, so I don't know what happened when we got to the apartments,' said Sedillo. She told detectives that eight teens, including herself, Sanderson, and Salas, were riding around Albuquerque in her car when she passed out in the backseat. 'And then all of a sudden, I hear Draco say 'I'm hit, I'm hit' and that's when everyone's like 'get Draco, get Draco' and so that's when we bring him in the car and he's like bleeding really bad. That's when I kinda like start sobering up and I'm like 'wait, what the **** just happened?' said Sedillo. The couple told police about the robbery attempt, who asked Sedillo if she remembered it. He left the teen with a final message before arresting her, a warning about thinking about her actions. Sedillo was sentenced to a year in juvenile detention on a conspiracy charge. The six other teens were charged with robbery. Jeriah Salas is also facing charges for shooting the passenger. All of them are being held on the charges. The Albuquerque Police Department ruled that Sanderson's death was justifiable, meaning the driver of the jeep will not face any charges. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

‘To see them here is surreal': Stolen paintings rehung at Taos museum
‘To see them here is surreal': Stolen paintings rehung at Taos museum

Yahoo

time2 days ago

  • Yahoo

‘To see them here is surreal': Stolen paintings rehung at Taos museum

TAOS, N.M. (KRQE) – Four decades in the making, a New Mexico mystery has finally come to a close. Two paintings that were ripped off the walls and stolen from a northern New Mexico museum in the 80s returned home Friday. 'It's amazing to have these paintings back in Taos. It's something that we never imagined would happen. To see them here is surreal. We're pleased that they're back,' said Juniper Leherissey, executive director of the Hardwood Museum of Art. The oil paintings 'Aspens' by Victor Higgins and 'Oklahoma Cheyenne' by Joseph Henry Sharp were hung back inside the museum on Friday, forty years after they were taken from the museum. 'It was a blow to me, personally. On the other hand, these things happen,' said David Witt, who was the museum curator when the paintings vanished in 1985. So, how did they go missing? Rita and Jerry Alter, who are now dead, are believed to have stolen the art after creating a distraction and fleeing with the paintings. The Alters were never caught or charged with a crime; however, the paintings spent decades in their home near Silver City. 'Part of the reason they weren't discovered is that they were hanging, literally hanging, in the living room of Rita and Jerry Alter's home,' explained Leherissey. After Rita Alter died in 2017, an antique dealer unknowingly bought another stolen art piece from the Alter's estate sale: Willem De Kooning's 'Woman-Ocher', which was taken from the University of Arizona Museum of Art. 'It wasn't until the estate was disband that they even were in the public eye,' Leherissey said. The two missing paintings returned home in part thanks to writer Lou Schachter, who linked the 'Harwood Heist' to the De Kooning theft after watching news stories and a documentary on the case. 'It's a wonderful feeling to be part of this celebration where things that were stolen 40 years ago are back home where they belong,' said Schachter. Past and present museum staff were thankful to see the works of art return home to their rightful place for everyone to see. 'It all has a good ending in the end. An unexpected one for me,' Witt said. The paintings will remain on public display through Sept. 7. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store