SEATTLE - About two dozen dancers from Sugar's Nightclub in Shoreline were charged with violating a city ordinance that requires dancers to be four feet away from customers, a prosecutor said Friday.
Prosecutor Sarah Roberts filed the charges in the city's municipal court following undercover police operations conducted on Dec. 28 and Jan. 11. An arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 4.
Shoreline police arrested 18 people at the club during the January sting. Fourteen were charged with violating the city's four-foot rule, and two also were cited for making offers of prostitution.
Two club supervisors, both women, were charged with failing to enforce the four-foot rule, Roberts said.
King County prosecutors are expected to handle the cases of two other women. One was arrested on a felony warrant for forgery. The other was picked up on suspicion of dealing marijuana, Roberts said.
Last week, the club's owner, a manager and former dancer filed a federal lawsuit against the city, accusing police of harassing and terrorizing employees during the sting operations. They are seeking unspecified financial damages and for the arrests to be declared unconstitutional.
A Shoreline police spokesman said officers had learned of possible violations and investigated.
Almost all of the charges are misdemeanors, which carry a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine, Roberts said.
