An adult shop owner told the York Press that he expects to go bankrupt after local authorities handed him a £15,000 court bill for running an adult oriented business without a license.
Andrew Clark, owner of XES, had reportedly been warned "for years" that he needed a license to sell adult products. In August 2002, a licensing officer visited the shop and found it stocked with enough sexually-oriented items that he advised Clark to either get a license or reduce his adult stock.
Authorities then raided Clark's shop last October, discovering shelves of adult titles and novelties. Clark pleaded guilty to running a sex establishment without a license, was fined £14,000 and ordered to pay the prosecution's £1,118.30 court costs, according to the report.
"It's disgusting," Clark told the York Press. "I will just go bankrupt. It was out of all proportion to the seriousness of the offense. I will have to appeal."
After the raid, authorities claimed that up to 60 percent of Clark's stock was of a sexual nature. Clark has disputed these figures, claiming a 38 percent stock in adult goods.
Clark insisted to the York Press that since the raid, the sex trade stock has been reduced, but said it was difficult to change stock quickly because of his financial situation.
The sexual items had helped him pay off certain debts, he said.
