Woman charged in Colorado Springs prostitution ring set for trial; she claimed to be a 'life coach'

Zachary Dupont, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
·2 min read

Nov. 16—A woman accused of operating a prostitution ring out of her Colorado Springs massage parlor is set to go on trial Nov. 28.

Shirley Briar Rose King's defense attorney and the prosecution told Judge Laura Findorff on Wednesday that they were ready for trial, which is expected to last a week.

King, also known as Akira Summers, faces five charges including pimping, prostitution and attempted pimping. The prosecution in previous hearings had told the court it had offered a plea deal several times over the past year.

The most recent offer, made in July, would have required her to plead guilty to attempted pimping, a Class 4 felony. The prosecution noted that the plea deal came with a required three years of supervised probation.

King, 31, denied the plea deal offered by the prosecution, instead opting to go to trial. The prosecution noted at the time that the plea deal was off the table after she entered a not guilty plea.

Pimping is a Class 3 felony and carries a punishment of four to 12 years in prison and up to $750,000 in fines, per Colorado law.

King became a person of interest to the police in November 2020 when officers were notified that she was running an illegal business at Sutra Healing Center in south Colorado Springs. The information launched a nearly yearlong investigation into King's business, where police found a ledger believed to detail illegal activities.

King told an undercover detective that several of the girls she employed performed sex acts with clients and that she kept a portion of the earnings, according to the arrest affidavit. When the detective suggested King was pimping the girls, she said she served as a "life coach," according to the affidavit.

The undercover investigation into King ran into controversy when it was revealed she allegedly gave the detective a massage featuring a "body slide," an act during which both participants are nude and engage in close physical contact. The detective paid King for the massage, officials said.

"As soon as this was brought to my attention, I immediately halted all investigations of this nature," then-police Chief Vince Niski said at the time. "This tactic does 'cross the line' when it comes to investigative strategies."

The prosecution, who appeared via video chat Wednesday, requested for the lead detective in the investigation to sit with the prosecution during the trial as an advisory witness. It's unclear if the detective who will advise the prosecution is the same investigator who allegedly received the "body slide" from King.

King is out of custody after posting a $10,000 bond after her arrest.