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After heated debate, Statesboro council suspends massage‑business license pending court outcome
Summary
Following testimony and a lengthy legal argument about due process, the mayor and council voted to suspend a therapeutic massage business license until the related criminal case is resolved in court.
Statesboro mayor and council voted to suspend a therapeutic massage business license until the outcome of a related criminal case is known, after an extended exchange about due process and enforcement authority.
The item arose from a recent undercover investigation by Statesboro Police that the staff summary said led to no immediate criminal charges for the business owner’s facility but prompted the city to consider revoking, suspending, or maintaining the local business license. City staff noted relevant local code sections in the staff report.
An attorney speaking for the licensee objected to a proposed three‑minute limit on the licensee’s presentation and argued at length that the available evidence did not show owner participation in any illegal activity. He said the employee the undercover officers identified was immediately fired when the owner learned of the allegation and urged council to avoid punishing a business owner without proof. “There is not one single fact, not one ounce of proof that this lady did anything against the law,” the attorney told the council on the record.
Council members considered several motions. An initial motion to suspend the license only until the next meeting failed by a 3–2 margin, after which a subsequent motion to suspend the license until the criminal proceedings in court are concluded passed. The final motion suspended the local license pending the court process; the council did not record a public roll‑call tally for the final vote in the transcript.
City staff and the city manager said residents or business owners with specific complaints should contact planning and code enforcement and that the city is available to follow up on any assertions that prior approvals or conditions were not met.
The council’s action is administrative (suspension of the local license) and does not resolve any criminal charges; the council explicitly framed its decision as contingent on the pending court process rather than reaching any determination of guilt or innocence.
