A 78-year-old West Chester man faces a misdemeanor charge after New Castle County police found him inside a Wilmington-area massage business during a human trafficking raid on Tuesday, July 15.

Thomas Hofer was charged with one count of attempting to commit patronizing a prostitute after detectives executed a search warrant at Crystal Spa in the 1700 block of Foulk Road in the Brandywine Hundred area south of Wilmington, according to a New Castle County Division of Police press release issued Thursday. He was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 11 and released on his own recognizance.

The search warrant capped a months-long investigation by the department's Drug and Human Trafficking Investigations Team, which began looking into Crystal Spa in May 2026. Inside, detectives identified three women as victims of human trafficking. Police said the women, ages 47, 54 and 56, were forced to work 12-hour shifts, seven days a week, without proper compensation.

Detectives seized $15,975 in cash along with bulk quantities of condoms and other items consistent with an illicit massage operation.

Nan Son Yim, 71, of Flushing, New York, was identified as the spa's operator and charged with three counts of human trafficking involving forced labor, two counts of human trafficking involving sexual servitude, promoting prostitution in the second degree and conspiracy in the second degree. Yim was committed to the Delores J. Baylor Women's Correctional Institution after failing to post $108,000 cash bail.

A second man found at the spa, Jesse Wasmer, 45, of Kingsville, Maryland, faces the same misdemeanor charge as Hofer and was also released on his own recognizance.

Police identified the spa's owner as 54-year-old Meilan Quan. Detectives executed a separate search warrant at Quan's residence on Mallard Circle in Claymont, Delaware, and recovered additional evidence. As of Friday, Quan had not been located. Police said she has connections in both Delaware and the Flushing, New York, area and will face the same felony charges as Yim once apprehended.

"Human trafficking is a hidden crime," New Castle County Police Chief Col. James J. Leonard III said in the July 24 announcement. "The New Castle County Division of Police remains committed to holding accountable those who exploit others while ensuring victims receive the support, resources and care they deserve."

All three victims were referred to the department's Victim Services Unit. The Delaware Division of Professional Regulation, Delaware Department of Justice, Delaware Anti-Trafficking Action Council, and Homeland Security Investigations assisted in the investigation.

Anyone with information about Quan's whereabouts or suspected human trafficking activity can contact Detective Townsend at 302-395-3609 or [email protected]. Tips may also be submitted through the New Castle County Police Human Trafficking Hotline at 302-395-2727, available 24 hours a day.