An Idaho Falls judge sentenced a 62-year-old woman to up to 20 years in prison Friday after a jury found her guilty of running a prostitution operation out of a local hotel in 2024.
Seventh District Judge Brendon Taylor handed Xue Fang Lu a sentence of five years fixed followed by 15 years indeterminate in connection with felony interstate trafficking of prostitution and felony procurement of prostitution. Lu will receive credit for 252 days already served. All counts will run concurrently.
The charges stem from an illegal massage and prostitution business Lu operated out of the Fairbridge Inn in Idaho Falls between March and May 2024.
Two Trials, One Conviction
Lu’s path to sentencing stretched across more than a year of court proceedings marked by repeated delays and procedural complications. A first trial in September 2025 ended in a hung jury when jurors could not reach a unanimous decision. A second jury, convened in March 2026, unanimously returned guilty verdicts on both felony counts after a five-day trial.
Throughout Friday’s sentencing hearing, Lu repeatedly interrupted the proceedings and, at one point, held up a handwritten sign reading “Double Jeopardy” to the courtroom gallery and camera. Through a court-appointed interpreter, she argued she was being punished twice for the same offense. Judge Taylor addressed her concern directly on multiple occasions, explaining that she had faced only one case in Idaho.
An alleged co-conspirator in the case, Gordon Dennis Shaw — an 82-year-old former Idaho Falls police officer — had charges against him dropped after he became ill and was determined unable to participate in court proceedings. Shaw later testified for the prosecution at Lu’s trial but was never recharged.
Prosecution and Defense Square Off at Sentencing
Bonneville County Prosecutor Randy Neal argued for a sentence of six years fixed and 18 years indeterminate, citing what he described as deeply troubling circumstances surrounding the victim in the case.
Neal told the court that Lu recruited the victim from California, bringing her to Idaho where she had no personal connections, no money, and no means of independent movement. The victim was kept at the hotel around the clock, leaving only when escorted to a nearby store for food, according to Neal’s account of the evidence.
Neal also quoted text messages entered into evidence, including one exchange in which Lu and the victim discussed charging customers more for unprotected sex. He quoted one message describing the victim’s situation in graphic terms, stating the sex work had been physically devastating for $150.
Neal further argued that Shaw, given his age, was himself being manipulated by Lu — that she used him to contact the victim in order to limit her own legal exposure. Defense attorney Sean Bartholick pushed back firmly on that framing.
“The state doesn’t get to have it both ways,” Bartholick said. “You can’t go to trial and present this persona as a source of evidence, and try to use it to get a conviction, and then show up at sentencing and somehow claim he’s a victim.”
Bartholick argued that Lu, who has only a single prior misdemeanor on her record, deserved probation or a retained jurisdiction rather than prison time. He contended the case reflected selective prosecution, pointing to the fact that Shaw’s charges were dismissed while his client’s were not.
“We have a clear case of selective prosecution, where the state wants to argue some outrage when Mr. Shaw was charged, and cases against him were dismissed,” Bartholick said. He noted that Lu was 62 years old with minimal criminal history and that at least one alleged co-conspirator faced no further legal consequences.
The hearing grew contentious at several points. Bartholick and Neal exchanged sharp remarks throughout the proceeding, including a moment when Bartholick referenced Neal’s recent loss in the Idaho Primary election for a District 7 judgeship.
What Comes Next
With a five-year fixed term, Lu must serve that portion before becoming eligible for parole consideration on the indeterminate portion of her sentence. The maximum exposure under the combined sentence is 20 years. No information about a potential appeal was included in the available record from Friday’s hearing. The case involving former Idaho Falls officer Gordon Dennis Shaw remains closed, with all charges against him previously dismissed by prosecutors.