The Fresno City Council is tackling the problem of sex trafficking.
During a press conference Thursday, Councilman Clint Olivier, who represents Fresno's seventh district, introduced an ordinance that would require massage parlors to be licensed by the state.
He cited a recent explosion of massage parlors in the city. City officials believe there may be hundreds of massage therapists who use those businesses for human sex trafficking.
At the press conference was a 24-year-old Fresno woman, who didn't want to be identified by name, who said she is a survivor of human trafficking.
"At one point, he had tried getting me to get into the massage parlors to work undercover as a masseuse, but it really--for the means of prostitution."
For four years, she said she was controlled by a man who made a profit off her, by coercing her into sexual acts with other men.
She was able to escape, but so many others live in the shadows of this hidden crime.
In 2010, the Fresno Police Department began their task force against human trafficking. This is one of nine task forces in the state.
"We've been able to identify in excess of 200 victims of human trafficking. In the massage parlors, we've identified five of those businesses that have been closed in that time," said Sgt. Curt Chastain, who heads the Coalition Against Human Trafficking at the Fresno Police Department.
The bill is titled ETHIC of Fresno Act: Ending the Trafficking of Humans in the City.
Under the ordinance, massage parlors would have to be licensed by the state instead of through the city. Hours of operation would be limited from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
"There are perhaps hundreds of women and men in our community that are being trafficked against their own will, forced to work in massage parlors, and also other establishments that have no voice," Olivier said.
According to Olivier, the city is currently out of compliance with state standards for massage parlors.
These new rules would hold massage parlor owners responsible for what happens in their business, and the City could shut down the business for using unlicensed massage therapists.
Next Thursday at the Fresno City Council meeting, council members will vote on whether to adopt the ordinance.