LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY eacole72)

An evangelical alliance wants to see adult gift & bookstores put out of business.

http://www.cjonline.com/stories/081106/bus_grandjury.shtml


Published Friday, August 11, 2006

Adult shops indicted by jury

By Barbara Hollingsworth
The Capital-Journal

A Shawnee County grand jury has indicted six adult businesses with multiple counts of promoting obscenity.

Shawnee County District Attorney Robert Hecht on Thursday announced that the following businesses had been indicted:

• Sinsations, 4720 S.W. Topeka Blvd., charged with four counts of promoting obscenity.

• Priscilla's, 3300 S.W. Topeka Blvd., charged with five counts of promoting obscenity.

• Priscilla's, 5800 S.W. 21st St., charged with five counts of promoting obscenity.

• Adult Entertainment Center, 903 N. Kansas Ave., charged with five counts of promoting obscenity.

• After Dark Video, 2315 N.W. Topeka Blvd., charged with five counts of promoting obscenity.

• Some Like it Hot, 4732 S.W. Topeka Blvd., charged with six counts of promoting obscenity.

The road to criminal charges began as a petition effort with citizens demanding that a grand jury be convened to investigate those they believed were breaking state law when it came to promoting obscenity. A 200-page petition delivered to Shawnee County District Court officials in April demanded the grand jury probe.

"I'm not surprised," Chris Stewart, vice president of the Topeka Evangelical Area Ministries, said of the indictments. "You know we've been aware that they are breaking the law, they are doing things they shouldn't be doing."

Hecht said the grand jury received information gathered during an investigation by the Shawnee County Sheriff's Department.

But being able to find criminal acts in that investigation, Hecht said, was made possible by changes modifying state statutes effective July 1. The more specific statutes make it a criminal offense to sell or distribute obscene material found to have offensive representations of sexual acts when that material lacks literary, educational, artistic, political or scientific value. Obscene devices, including stimulating devices, also were included in the law.

In addition to the grand jury charges, Hecht said his office would file civil cases against the businesses, their owners and the property. He said the office would seek to have the businesses declared a public nuisance and have an injunction issued that could include padlocking the property for between 90 days and 24 months.

In a statement, Hecht said his office took First Amendment rights seriously.

"Yet, there are no absolute rights that exist without some restrictions or limitations," he said. "Our citizens speaking through their representative legislature have decided that obscenity and obscene material or devices should be and are outside the reasonable protection of the First Amendment and should be prohibited."

Yes, these are adult bookstores. Yes, some of the merchendise is a little over the top. But I have major issues with this in terms of free expression. I'm particularly concerned with the civil suits that could force the stores to close for 3 months to 2 years.