On September 28, 2016, the Lake County Sheriff’s Gang Task Force conducted an undercover prostitution operation at 1020 North Milwaukee Avenue (Accupressure Physical Therapy), Unincorporated Deerfield. This operation was conducted in response to a tip the Lake County Sheriff’s Office received regarding possible prostitution.
While conducting the undercover operation, it became apparent one of the “employees” of Accupressure Physical Therapy, a 28 year-old woman, was a victim forced to perform sexual acts. Yuhua Fan, 53, of the 300 block of Alpine Spring Drive, Vernon Hills, was found to be responsible for manipulating and coercing the victim into prostitution.
Detectives conducted a thorough investigation and discovered another 47 year-old woman was also a victim of Fan’s. Both women came to the Chicagoland area approximately two months ago. The victims believed they were going to be employed as masseuses, and had no intention of engaging in prostitution. They were both forced into prostitution by Fan, under intimidation of becoming unemployed and homeless.
Both victims were rescued by the Lake County Sheriff’s Gang Task Force. The Gang Task Force worked with the Cook County Sheriff Sex Trafficking Unit, to secure a safe shelter for both women.
Fan was subsequently charged with:
Promoting Prostitution (Class 4 Felony)
Keeping a Place of Prostitution (Class A Misdemeanor)
Pimping (Class A Misdemeanor)
Maintaining a Public Nuisance (Class A Misdemeanor)
Fan appeared in court on September 29, 2016, where her bail was set at $50,000.00. She was released from the Lake County Jail, the same day, after posting the necessary bond. Her next court date is October 5, 2016, at 1:30PM in courtroom C-120.
Lake County Sheriff Mark C. Curran, Jr. said, “I’ve said many times that prostitution is not a victimless crime, and this is yet another example which proves just that. Human Trafficking and juvenile sex trafficking go hand-in-hand with prostitution, crimes we will vigorously investigate.”
Lake County Undersheriff Raymond J. Rose said, “Human trafficking is occurring throughout our country, and it’s also here in Lake County. One of the many responsibilities of the Lake County Sheriff’s Gang Task Force is to identify these operations and arrest those responsible for running these rings.”
Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart said, "This is just one example of how our Human Trafficking Response team works with the Lake County Sheriff's Office to make sure victims of these heinous crimes are safe and are cared for.”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Gang Task Force is a multi-jurisdictional task force, run by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, consisting of local, county and federal agencies. Current participants in the Gang Task Force come from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), U.S. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI/ICE), Lake County Forest Preserve Police, Park City Police Department, Fox Lake Police Department, Grayslake Police Department, Lake Villa Police Department, North Chicago Police Department, Wauconda Police Department, Mundelein Police Department, Lakemoor Police Department, Vernon Hills Police Department, and the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Sheriff Curran reminds the public that the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.