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2 plead guilty to giving more than massages

By MOLLY MOORHEAD
Published March 22, 2007

DADE CITY - A couple who ran a Wesley Chapel massage service that authorities said fronted for a prostitution ring pleaded guilty Wednesday.

Laura Kessler, 46, and Richard Beck, 48, each received two years of probation. They pleaded guilty to practicing health care without a license, deriving proceeds from prostitution - both felonies - and misdemeanor prostitution counts.

The license charge carries a mandatory one-year prison sentence, but prosecutors and sheriff's officials waived that in the plea agreement.

Todd Smith, Kessler's attorney, said the deal avoids what could have been a complicated, costly trial. "If you were to look at what the state and the Sheriff's Office would have had to expend, it's in the best interest of everyone," he said.

Detectives raided Beck's four-bedroom home in the Seven Oaks neighborhood in August. With detectives listening in, informers who made appointments for massages would go to the house at 27623 Pine Point Drive, which is assessed at more than $400,000. During the massages, they accepted offers from Kessler and Beck to perform sex acts for money.

The Sheriff's Office said all the encounters were closely supervised, and deputies did not engage in any sex acts.

The Sheriff's Office said the couple had 200 regular customers. Neighbors reported seeing people - primarily men - coming and going at all hours and sometimes staying overnight.

Barbara Beck, Richard Beck's sister, was arrested a few weeks later and also charged with practicing health care without a license. According to court documents, Barbara Beck assisted Kessler in a sex act with an informer.

Her case is pending.

[Last modified March 22, 2007, 00:03:59]