Salon Owner Shut Down For Alleged Prostitution Wants License Back
CHICAGO (STMW) -- The owner of a South Side salon shut down last year after a worker allegedly offered to perform a sex act on an undercover agent filed a petition Thursday in Cook County Circuit Court.
Huanyu Hua, licensee of the now-closed Elegant Beauty Salon, 237 W. 26th St., claims her 2010 hearing process was conducted unfairly and is asking the city to reinstate her license, according to the suit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.
Evidence presented at Hua's hearing, held before a hearing officer of the Liquor Control Commission on July 20 and Aug. 31, 2010, said that on Oct. 30, 2009, Hua's business "offered or agreed to perform an act of sexual penetration" for money; "allowed an employee, agent or independent contractor to touch, offer, or agree to touch the sexual or genital area" of a customer; and that Hua failed to maintain sanitary conditions and engaged in massage without a license.
Hua pleaded not guilty to the charges, but her license was still revoked.
The petition filed Thursday claims the evidence presented before the hearing officer didn't support the charges against Hua, and claims the hearing officer erred by allowing hearsay into evidence. It also claims the independent contractor referred to in the charges "does not even speak English."
"The standards in the city ordinance are vague and ambiguous and penalize the licensee for conduct of independent contractors," the petition says.
Hua's attorney could not be immediately reached for comment.
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