UPDATE: 9:30 a.m. - May 28, 2025
A 54-year-old woman was sentenced on Tuesday to 10 years in prison in what officials call Missoula County's first large-scale sex and labor trafficking conviction.
Yanbin Bao received a 15-year sentence with five years suspended for operating an illicit massage business in Missoula.
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"Fifteen years to the Montana State Prison, which effectively would be the women's Correctional facility, should be imposed of that 15 years, the court will suspend five years," Judge Leslie Halligan said during sentencing.
Bao previously owned Soul Massage in Missoula, located off Highway 93 south near Blue Mountain Road.
An investigation began in 2023 after a woman contacted police, reporting physical assault by Bao and her husband.
Two Missoula County Sheriff's Office detectives identified three victims that Bao had recruited and trafficked between April and May of 2023.
A jury convicted Bao on four counts of sex trafficking and one count of labor trafficking.
During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors pushed for an aggravated maximum sentence, while the defense requested a deferred sentence, citing Bao's status as an illegal immigrant.
Judge Halligan ultimately sentenced Bao to a concurrent jail term of 10 years minus 74 days for time already served.
"With regard to fines, I will impose a fine of $10,000 on the sex on count one. No other fines will be imposed," Halligan said.
The judge also ordered that upon release, Bao must obtain permission from a parole officer to open a business, and her electronics must be supervised due to her "course of conduct and potential for re-offense."
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(first report: 2:56 p.m. - May 27, 2025)
A woman who was found guilty on sex and labor trafficking charges appeared in a Missoula courtroom on Tuesday for sentencing.
Missoula District Court Judge Leslie Halligan sentenced Yanbin Bao to just under 10 years in prison.
A jury had found Bao guilty on four felony counts of sex trafficking and one felony count of labor trafficking.
Bao owned Soul Massage, which was described by prosecutors as an illicit commercial massage parlor in Missoula.
It was previously stated that Bao was convicted in the "first large-scale sex and labor trafficking case" by the Missoula County Attorney’s Office.
An investigation began in late May of 2023 when a person, named only as "Jane Doe," contacted police, reporting that she had been physically assaulted by Bao and her husband, Richard Bushey, at Soul Massage in Missoula.
What are described as "deplorable conditions" at Soul Massage, along with Jane Doe's statements, led officers to believe that Bao was engaged in sex trafficking.
Two Missoula County Sheriff's Office detectives eventually identified three victims that Bao had recruited and trafficked between April 26, 2023, and May 29, 2023.
Bao was also fined $10,000 on Tuesday and cannot open her own business without the permission of a probation officer.
