SKOKIE – An Evanston masseuse facing a prostitution charge reached a deal with prosecutors in court Monday to possibly dismiss the case by late next month.
Using an informal translator at the Circuit Court in Skokie, Chicago resident Haihua Zhang, 43, agreed to complete 24 hours of community service by June 22. The bargain came as part of a deferred prosecution agreement that was offered after the arresting officer failed to show up in court early Monday afternoon.
Evanston Police Department spokesman Cmdr. Jay Parrott confirmed the arresting officer did not appear because he is part of “extra personnel on hand” for the NATO summit in Chicago.
In early April, Zhang was charged with misdemeanor prostitution after she allegedly agreed to go “beyond the normal massage” with an undercover officer, Parrott told The Daily last month. Police alleged she agreed to perform a sex act for payment at Acupuncture Center and Herbs, 1905 Howard St.
Zhang’s attorney, Arthur Porto, said he was confident the case will be dismissed by the June deadline, especially because his client belongs to a Buddhist temple where she is already involved in volunteer work.
“She wants to put this behind her because she has a family, and she wants to move on,” Porto said outside the courtroom.
Porto said he realized Zhang knew “very basic, very basic English” in his initial conversations with her. Zhang could barely answer how long she had been working at the massage parlor, let alone living in the United States, Porto recalled.
“My view is that it was a misunderstanding of her and the officer,” Porto said, adding his client “obviously needs a translator” in most interactions with English speakers.
An official Mandarin interpreter arrived several minutes late to the Skokie courthouse Monday, missing the brief proceeding.
When her informal translator told her of the deferred prosecution agreement, Zhang, dressed in an all-black outfit, was visibly relieved, saying, “Thank you,” to the judge and walking back to her seat with a restrained smile.
Acupuncture Center and Herbs owner Dr. Mark Xiang estimated Zhang had been working at the massage parlor for two to three months before her April 4 arrest. Zhang rents a room at the south Evanston business, Xiang said.
Xiang echoed Porto’s claim that the language barrier played a major role in the incident and led to Zhang’s arrest.
“There must have been a misunderstanding because we know that lady,” Xiang said of Zhang. “She didn’t do that. We cannot tolerate any illegal activity in that place.”
