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A Winona Lake woman was arrested on a charge of prostitution at a local massage business and police are checking to see if her alleged illegal activities were organized.
Police didn't have to go far to make what is believed to be the first arrest involving prostitution in the county's history.
The woman was arrested Thursday afternoon at Dating Dynamics, located one block north of the Justice Building on Lake Street in Warsaw.
Angela Frye, 32, of 1011 Court St., Winona Lake, was arrested Thursday afternoon after she allegedly began to engage in what was considered a sex act with an undercover officer.
Officers obtained a warrant and searched the business Friday in hopes of determining whether the business owner, Jenette Fairchild, was aware or involved of the alleged activities, Kosciusko County Prosecutor David Kolbe said.
A large amount of paperwork was taken from the business, but no other further arrests were made Friday.
At the time of the search, two female employees were on the premise, Kolbe said.
The business promotes itself as an escort dating service that offers topless massages.
Although the city has an ordinance banning topless or semi-nude entertainment, Dating Dynamics was able to circumvent the law because the ordinance dealt with only businesses that serve alcohol.
Kolbe said officials had heard complaints and rumors about the business in recent months.
"It wasn't that we were ignoring it. I hope people can appreciate the difficulty in proving it. You don't have a lot of guys coming forward saying 'Oh, by the way, I'd like to volunteer what happened to me,'" Kolbe said.
Attorney Jay Lavender, who has worked with Fairchild in the past, said he was aware of the arrest, but did not have details about Friday's developments.
"What she's told me is that everything is legitimate," Lavender said late Friday night.
Fairchild is "a very creative, enterprising woman" who has worked hard to establish the business, Lavender said. Her original plans involved establishing a "match-maker" type busines that involves computer matches for singles, Lavender said.
The massage service developed later, he added.
Kolbe said it would be premature to suggest the business was part of a prostitution ring. He said police believe employees and clients sometimes left the premise together.
If sex acts had occurred outside of the business, the owner might not have been aware of what, if anything, was happening.
The investigation was the result of a cooperative effort between city, Kosciusko County and Indiana State Police, and was headed up by the undercover special operations task force, Kolbe said.
The undercover officer used recording equipment hidden in his clothing during the massage and alerted other officers after the woman began rubbing his crotch, Kolbe said.
Other police involved in the investigation were unavailable for comment.
Kolbe said he has not received formal paperwork on the investigation.
Kolbe said some of the strongest complaints came from legitimate massage business owners in the area who feared their operations would be confused with Dating Dynamics.
