Authorities charged members of a San Jose family with running a satellite of brothels—including locations in South Santa Clara County—that were trafficking dozens of women and bringing in about $1 million a year.
Multiple co-defendants face felonies related to their operation of a network of at least 10 commercial sex brothels throughout Santa Clara County, including in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose, Cupertino and Mountain View, District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office said.
In a coordinated effort, law enforcement arrested Joseph and Binghua Bresee, a married couple at the heart of the illegal business which operated under the legal cover of “massage parlors,” says a press release from the DA’s office. One of their adult children was also charged.
The DA’s Office seized or froze more than $1.25 million of illegal profits.
The multi-agency operation—which included DA investigators, the FBI and local departments—was nicknamed “Operation Family Ties,” authorities said.
The Bresees and their co-conspirators are charged with 26 felonies including criminal conspiracy, pimping, money laundering and tax fraud, says the press release. At the arraignment on Dec. 5, Judge Hector Ramon set bail for Binghua Bresee, 52, Joseph Bresee, 77, and Binghua’s son, Jiabao Huang, 30, at $1 million each. An additional co-conspirator was arrested under suspicion of running money for one of the brothels. All of the defendants face prison time, if convicted.
“The trafficking of human beings has no place in our community, or any other,” Rosen said. “Modern slavery is morally and legally wrong and will be met with no toleration and—as you can see by the agencies cooperating in this operation—the strictest legal accountability.”
The investigation began in June, when a Morgan Hill police officer became suspicious of one of the defendants applying to open up a massage parlor under another individual’s name, the DA’s office said.
Further investigation uncovered the size of the operation—which included an operating brothel in Hayward. The operation culminated in search warrants and arrests on December 3. The investigation remains ongoing, authorities said.
The DA’s Victim Services Unit, Community Solutions and YWCA offered resources to the 18 workers who were recovered during the service of the search warrants. More than 40 different women were identified in the course of the investigation.
In November, the Morgan Hill Police Department announced that its officers had shut down 12 illegal massage parlors in the city limits that had been offering illegal sexual services to customers. That enforcement—which included the arrest of numerous people on suspicion of pimping, pandering and prostitution—followed an 18-month investigation.
Many women engage in commercial sex work because their autonomy is heavily constrained by factors like poverty and immigration status, the press release explains. This work can lead to crimes such as assault, homicide and rape. It is a crime to solicit, encourage, assist with or make money from commercial sex work.
Anyone who needs help and wants to connect with services and resources related to human trafficking can call the county’s 24-hour confidential hotline at 877.363.7238. To report human trafficking to law enforcement, call 408.792.2700 or email ht****@********ov.org.
