Tag Archives: Topic: Pornography

Brendan Lewis reports at Wicked Local: “Middleton Town Meeting voters narrowly defeated an article last week that would have designated an area off Sharpners Pond Road as an adult zoning district.”

OneNewsNow: “‘I’m pleased to see that Attorney General [Andrew] Cuomo of New York is continuing to target Craigslist, because Craigslist is still a problem when it comes to prostitution — and where there’s prostitution, we know there’s sex trafficking and child prostitution,’ says Trueman, a former prosecutor with the Justice Department.”

The Times-Picayune: “Kenner officials are moving to step up their regulation of sexually oriented businesses with a 29-page ordinance governing such items as hours of operation, floor plans and employee licensing.”

WSOCTV.com: “A fight at a south Charlotte strip club led to a shootout in the parking lot early Wednesday. Police said a pair of men began fighting inside the Carousel Club at about 3 a.m.”

The London Free Press: “If you use prostitutes or buy pornography, ‘you’re probably supporting human trafficking,’ said retired superintendent Marty Van Doren.”

“This Article addresses the novel issue of whether the courts’ jurisprudence concerning transgender marriage requires a second look at equal protection challenges to laws regulating female, but not male, toplessness.”

CTV News reports: “Christopher Roy Whitmee, 34, died in hospital a few hours a gunman burst into the Legacy Show Lounge’s bathroom late Saturday night, opening fire on two men.”

Marcia Segelstein writes at One News Now: “We have ‘mainstreamed pornography,’ as author Michael Leahy puts it. Our hypersexualized, pornographic culture has all but obliterated a vision of what healthy sexuality is.”

NBC 10: “Residents of a Fall River neighborhood rallied Monday against a proposed strip club. People who live in the Rodman Street area said the Martinique strip club would be right in the middle of their neighborhood, near a school and bus stops.”

ABC: “A man is dead, and a second wounded after investigators say they were shot by an off-duty police officer. It’s the third officer-involved shooting in the last 24 hours.”

Akron Beacon Journal: “Attorneys with the city of Akron are seeking to close the men’s club where police say two teenage girls worked as strippers. A nuisance abatement lawsuit filed by city attorneys on Tuesday seeks a court order to shutter the Playhouse nightclub on East Waterloo Road for at least one year.”

Dallas Morning News: “In the battle over strip club legislation, the adult entertainment industry now has a leg up. A bill to force strip clubs to pay a $3-per-patron fee – backed by sexual-assault prevention groups, whose cause would have benefited from the money – died in the House on Wednesday.”

MyFoxBoston: “Providence officials have ordered a 10-day shutdown of the strip club that was the site of a triple shooting nearly two months ago.”

OneNewsNow: “‘I’m skeptical because the Craigslist people have said they’re going to make progress, and then there’s no progress. What they are attempting to do now is eliminate the erotic site and establish an adult site,’ [Trueman] notes. ‘I’ve already checked the adult site and it already has prostitution advertised, so I don’t expect much from Craigslist.’”

Amanda Iacone reports in the Journal Gazette: “Curbing adult sex shops and related businesses in New Haven might require zoning changes and additional permitting or licensing requirements, New Haven’s mayor said Tuesday.”

Elise Hu reports at KVUE News: “Two so-called ‘pole’ tax bills are creating a difficult dance for state lawmakers. The House is expected to approve a measure by state Rep. Ellen Cohen, D-Houston, to charge topless clubs $3 per patron to fund sexual assault services in Texas. But the House and Senate have already approved a rival measure by state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston.”

Associated Press: “The Texas Senate has voted to repeal a $5-per-person admission fee on strip clubs and replace it with a new tax on sexually oriented business.”

John Reynolds reports in the State Journal-Register: “Michael Myers, an attorney representing the group that wanted to open the club, has written county officials asking that a request for a conditional permitted use for the club be withdrawn.”

Greg Johns reports at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports blog: “Baseball and strippers don’t mix in the minds of Seattle Mariners management, thus the club’s lawyers were in King County Superior Court on Monday for a hearing on the team’s lawsuit against the City of Seattle seeking to prevent the opening of a Deja Vu club just down the street from Safeco Field.”

Mark Bowes reports in the Richmond Times-Dispatch: “But Commonwealth’s Attorney Wade Kizer said he still hasn’t decided how Henrico authorities should handle such ‘sexting’ incidents, which aren’t really covered by law. His office and county police are still reviewing several cases involving students at Moody Middle School.”

Julie Hilden writes at Findlaw:
There is no shortcut here: Legislators need to write new laws – and/or schools must write new policies — regarding sexting that are specifically geared toward the peculiarities of the practice as it exists among teenagers today. “Sexting” should not become a trap for the unwary; it should be addressed in a rational, consistent way, and in a way that eschews old categories to recognize its unique nature. Teens should also have clear prior notice of what they cannot do, and of what will happen to them if they break the rules.

Kimball Perry reports in the Cincinnati Enquirer: “The family of a Sycamore High student who hanged herself after nude pictures she took on her cell phone were disseminated without her permission is suing the school, the city of Montgomery and several students they believe are involved.”

AFP: “A Cairo court issued a ruling on Tuesday calling on the Egyptian government to ban foreign pornographic websites, the lawyer filing the suit told AFP.”

KFOR Oklahoma City reports: “Folks who live near N.W. 10th and Council are fighting to keep a new business from ever opening its doors. The building, which used to be the Lamplighter Club, has been closed for years. The new owners have applied to reopen the club without adult entertainment, but some folks who live nearby fear it could reopen as a strip club.”

The May 2009 Verizon Wireless Newsletter is promoting parental control options for family telecommunications that include various blocking and filtering options.

St. Louis-Dispatch: “Police hope $16,000 in rewards will lead to arrest in the fatal beating and shooting of a Lemay man outside a strip club here.”

AP: “At least one of the victims in a human-trafficking case investigated by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office was brought to an exotic dance club in Pinellas County, where she was forced to dance and perform sex acts, according to jail records.”

AP: “A proposal allowing civil lawsuits when victims of childhood sex crimes learn there’s pornography depicting the crimes against them was challenged Friday by a critic who said that as written it offers a ‘field day’ to defense lawyers.”

The Joplin Globe: “Jasper County is looking at a license application for a business adjacent to an adult-video store, but it has not issued approval for the operation, officials said Thursday.”

Warning: graphic discussion

Daily Mail: “A paedophile ring has been smashed after eight men were found guilty of a horrifying catalogue of more than 50 child pornography and abuse charges”

OneNewsNow: “‘What we don’t want to say is that it’s safer with respect to child pornography and child sex abuse online because there are more people everyday looking for child pornography, looking to abuse kids,’ [Pat Trueman] notes. ‘So the market for that kind of material actually grows even though the number of websites declined.’”

CitizenLink: “Pat Trueman, special counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said Craigslist should face prosecution. ‘Craigslist is certainly making it easier for sexual traffickers who want to traffic children and adults in America,’ he said.”

Warning: graphic discussion
Harvard Crimson: “Students crowded into Science Center C on Friday night, but instead of picking up syllabi, they grabbed free condoms and cupcakes frosted with images of vaginas . . . Event organizer Eva B. Rosenberg ’10 said she was pleased with the turnout and the audience participation, but was disappointed with Locker’s focus on heterosexual sex and the lack of information for gay, transgender, and other queer individuals. ”

FoxNews: “A student is appealing his suspension from a Christian college in western Pennsylvania for appearing in gay porn videos using a pseudonym.”

JournalGazette.net: “‘These places bring predatory-type people in there, sickos, people we don’t desire to have here in our neighborhood and around the kids,’ neighbor William Blanton said. ‘God forbid nothing ever happened to these kids.’ . . . The mayor plans to introduce an ordinance in June that would restrict locations of future sex-related businesses.”

AP: “Stormy Daniels strode onstage at a downtown Baton Rouge restaurant in a tight black blouse with a plunging neckline and a knee-length skirt in the popular purple of Louisiana State University. She introduced herself with a warning.”

IndianasNewsCenter.com: During recessions, new businesses are usually welcomed with open arms, but some New Haven residents say that doesn’t include an adult novelty store. Cupid’s Castle LLC received a permit to renovate this building directly across the street from homes . . . Since the property is zoned commercial, there is little the city of New Haven can do now to stop the adult store from opening.”

Marc Kovac reports in the News Leader: “Teens would be prohibited from sending nude photos of themselves to others via cell phones but would face lesser potential penalties for doing so, under legislation introduced at the Ohio Statehouse.”

Reuters: “Cambodia expects an increase in prostitution and human trafficking as the unemployment rate climbs during the economic downturn, the country’s secretary of state said on Wednesday.”

MyFoxHouston.com: “Every night, right here in Houston, children are being sexually assaulted by strangers. Having sex with a child is a serious crime. It’s also a multi-billion dollar business.”

Forbes: “Teens who watched adult-themed movies and television shows as children become sexually active at a younger age than their peers, a Children’s Hospital Boston study finds.”

Gail Earle writes at OregonLive.com: “The bottom line of all the research is the horrific damage that is done to our society and women by the sex industry, which takes women often damaged by early abuse and further damages them.”

The March 2009 edition of the Community Defense Reporter is now available online via the Community Defense Counsel.

Long Island Press: “A North Amityville man was arrested on Saturday, May 2, for shooting and seriously injuring a man outside Stone Hedge, a strip club in West Babylon, on April 17, Suffolk Police say.”

Boston Herald: “The board of selectmen in the town where a topless coffee shop raised eyebrows when it opened earlier this year has revised its anti-nudity ordinance.”

Chicago Tribune (AP): “The owners of a Dubuque strip club have reached a tentative settlement in their lawsuit with the city and have agreed to close the business by July 1. ”

JDNews.com: “Adam & Eve, a retailer with 32 franchises across the country, is opening a new location on Wilmington Highway, according to the city planning department and a representative from the corporation. Another adult-themed business, Intimate Bliss, is set to open even sooner on Workshop Drive.”

Internet Watch Foundation Press Release: “The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has published its Annual Report 2008 revealing a fall of nearly 10% in the number of international websites with child sexual abuse content. The report warns against complacency, pointing to the serious nature of the images which are often carried on commercial websites.”

“The high court on Monday directed the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia to consider reinstating the $550,000 fine that the Federal Communications Commission imposed on CBS over Jackson’s breast-baring performance at the 2004 Super Bowl.”

OneNewsNow: “Pat Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, tells OneNewsNow that one executive has stated the firm does not have explicit material on the website. He disagrees. ‘They have prostitutes advertised and trafficked women — women against their will, who have explicit pictures, hard-core pornography on the site advertising for prostitution,’ he notes.”

Associated Press: “A House committee has approved a bill to make indoor prostitution illegal in Rhode Island.”

Erie Times-News: “The first adult-oriented business in Titusville is a step closer to opening after getting licensing approval from city officials this week.”

KAUZ: “Every 39 minutes a pornographic video is being filmed, and there’s no evidence the adult entertainment industry is going anywhere but up anytime soon.”

One News Now: Trueman believes Mondragon should have received the maximum penalty. “Unfortunately, he was only sentenced to 13 years in prison,” he points out. “My judgment is that a man who has done this sort of a monstrous crime ought to get life in prison.”

The Arizona Daily Star: “A man was injured early Wednesday in a shooting outside of a Midtown strip club. No arrests have been made in the incident, which was reported around 2:40 a.m. Police were called to the Bunny Ranch at 3650 E. Speedway where a fight broke out as people were leaving the establishment, said Sgt. Fabian Pacheco, a Tucson Police Department spokesman.”

The Leaf Chronicle: “A Clarksville woman was arrested and charged with operating an adult oriented business without a license. Christina Marie Honeycutt, 43, who gave a 4497 Cumberland City Road address was cited on misdemeanor charges of license to operate-required, simple possession and unlawful drug paraphernalia charges.”

The Republican: “One of the changes in the proposed revision to the city zoning code could jeopardize the future of the Mardi Gras and other strip clubs, officials said. The change may trigger a state law which could require strip club owners obtain special permits from the City Council, lawyers and other officials told councilors on Monday.”

Seattle Post Intelligencer (AP): “A Seattle federal judge on Monday upheld the enforcement of a city law that requires dancers to stay four feet away from patrons.”

Kalamazoo Gazette: “Escape Reality strip club on Dailey Road, according to the Cass County prosecutor’s office, which requested the order . . . Officials allege that employees engaged in drug activity, prostitution and repeated acts of lewd behavior at the adult-entertainment business.”

Daily Gazette: “All of the city’s topless dancing bars are now closed, the last one shutting its door without fanfare two months ago. Aquarius burst back into the news Saturday when a private party held by a DJ ended with two brothers shot, one fatally. But by then the bar’s topless dancing was long since over.”

Suffolk University Law Review: “Although producing virtual child pornography indistinguishable from real child pornography may be a technical possibility, the First Circuit properly allowed a lay person to determine whether an image is real or virtual. Wilder posited that computer-generated images might not be distinguishable from real images, but presented no evidence either supporting this claim or asserting that the images on his computer were in fact virtual in origin. While experts disagree about the degree of availability or prevalence of virtual child pornography on the Internet, the circuits that have considered the issue agree that fact-finders are capable of determining whether an image represents a real child without technical expert testimony.”

Seattle University Law Review: “Part II of this Comment explores the psychological make-up of a pedophile by introducing the diagnostic criteria of pedophilia and by examining lengths to which pedophiles will go to find children. This Part also describes the danger created by websites with seemingly innocuous images and writings, explaining how these websites enable and validate pedophilia.”

Akron Beacon Journal: “A 14-year-old girl was placed in protective custody during a raid in which four exotic dancers were arrested by Akron police vice officers.”

AP: “The number of international Web sites showing sexual abuse of children has fallen by about 10 percent, but the images on these sites are more violent, a British Internet watchdog said Wednesday.”

Wicked Local: “Stanley said his research showed adult entertainment establishments lead to a rise in prostitution, and narcotics issues, and are often frequented by sex offenders. ‘This is an important issue for our community and we need to be vigilant,’ he said.”

” . . . the days of FCC indecency enforcement may be limited. (They may be limited anyway under Pres. Obama.) Are there five justices left on the court who will maintain Pacifica when this case (or a similar one) is returned to the high court? Breyer has been good on some related issues but I would not count on him. I count four justices–but that number includes Kennedy and who wouldn’t be concerned about him?”

Houston Chronicle: “The mastermind of a human trafficking ring that smuggled women from Central America to work in Houston cantinas as virtual sex slaves was sentenced Monday to 13 years in federal prison. The case involving Maximino Mondragon, 57, remains one of the largest human trafficking rings ever uncovered in the United States.”

Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology: “This Comment explores the split between the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits on the issue of sexual privacy and statutes that ban the sale and distribution of sexual devices. It argues that the statutes, although silly and repugnant, are not unconstitutional; that a finding of unconstitutionality could potentially do more harm than good to the greater goals of understanding female sexuality and providing sexual realization and autonomy; and that those goals will be best served, as they have been thus far, via legislative means and further scientific research into the role and nature of sex and orgasm in modern relationships.”

Washington Times: “America is raising a generation of children on porn – and your child just might be one of them. According to the London School of Economics, nine out of 10 teens who go online will view pornography. The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that 70 percent of those who viewed porn stumbled across it – many while innocently doing their homework – and had not been looking for it.”

LA Times editorial: “More than 17,000 people were smuggled or trafficked into the United States last year. Some were duped into believing that jobs awaited them and instead were forced into debt peonage, required to work in orchards and fields or as housemaids to reimburse the cost of their transport. Others, mostly women and children, were trafficked into sex slavery, and still others were shipped in by boat or brought across the Mexican border by organized smuggling rings.”

Deseret News: “Pornography ‘hijacks a person’s healthy sexuality,’ said the closing keynote speaker at a conference sponsored by the Utah Coalition Against Pornography on Saturday.”

Examiner: “The American Civil Liberties Union is lobbying for changes to state law to prevent streakers from being classified as sex offenders.”

One News Now: “Pat Trueman, special counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), believes the judge was out of order. ‘If the Pennsylvania prosecutor felt that these pictures violated Pennsylvania child pornography laws, why is a federal judge stepping in to say that the prosecutor can’t even let the case go forward?’ he wonders.”

Orlando Sentinel: “Under threat of a federal lawsuit, city planners are rewriting zoning rules to make it easier for adult-entertainment businesses — including strip clubs, adult bookstores and adult theaters — to open in Orlando. With only one exception — Fairvilla Megastore, which sells sex toy and adult videos on North Orange Blossom Trail — all of the area’s strip clubs are outside city limits.”

Oregonian: “Now Tualatin’s mayor and two Oregon legislators have proposed amending the Oregon Constitution and are targeting nude dancing. It’s an issue Oregon voters have repeatedly rejected in a state with greater protections for speech and expression than are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution.”