Aixin Cheng

CANFIELD — A Fairfax, Virginia, woman was in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield Tuesday in connection to an ongoing human trafficking investigation being carried out by Beaver Township police and Mahoning County Human Trafficking Task Force.

Aixin Cheng, 53, faces felony charges of promoting prostitution and possessing criminal tools and a misdemeanor charge of soliciting, court records show.

She pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge and did not enter a plea to the felony charges, according to the records, which also state she is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 23. Her bond was set at $100,000.

The charges stem from an operation Friday by township police and the task force at 9215 Market Street, Unit 7, North Lima.

The operation was related to an ongoing investigation in reference to solicitation offenses, Beaver Township police Chief Eric Dattilo said in a press release. As a result of the operation, Cheng was arrested, and a search warrant was conducted.

On Aug. 5, an operation by the same agencies was conducted that also resulted in the arrest of a woman on sex offenses as well as the execution of a search warrant, according to Dattilo.

“This is the fourth investigation that has resulted in sex offense charges and corresponding search warrants executed at that location since September 2021,” he said.

The Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office and Beaver Township Zoning Department will help the police department and task force review options and possible additional criminal charges and zoning violations, Dattilo said.

The North Lima location was among three Mahoning Valley locations raided simultaneously Aug. 5 when the task force teamed up with multiple agencies for a human trafficking investigation.

At that time, Datillo said his department planned to “continue to do surveillance out there in the future and work with the prosecutor’s office to see what we can do to shut it down.” He was referring to the Market Street North Lima location. He said evidence was seized from the property during the Aug. 5 raids.

The other locations raided that day were the 3C Foot Spa on Youngstown-Hubbard Road in Hubbard and Elegant Foot Spa, 1760 Belmont Avenue, No. 3, in Youngstown.

At the Youngstown location, Yuli Guo, 49, was charged with misdemeanor soliciting another to engage in sexual activity for hire and was taken to the Mahoning County jail, where she was booked and released on a summons to appear in Youngstown Municipal Court on the charge.