KILMARNOCK, Va. - A Lancaster County grand jury has indicted Movie Gallery's Kilmarnock, Va. outlet in an effort to stop the store from carrying adult movies.
The jury, which met last month, charged the store with being a public nuisance, and its indictment asks the Circuit Court to close the store's X-rated back room and change the way it displays R-rated and unrated videos in its main shopping area.
The covers of many of said videos, the jury found, "were obscene and not suitable for viewing by children under 13."
This indictment was brought down after 94 county residents petitioned the court in August to declare the Movie Gallery outlet a public nuisance. Said the petition, it "exposes the community to obscene and pornographic materials which constitute a public nuisance" and "does not provide adequate safeguards to protect children from exposure to this material."
The outcry was led by Fabiola Gergerich of Middlesex County, who Westmoreland County administrator Norm Risavi described as "the most persistent advocate I have ever met as county administrator." At Gergerich's urging, Westmoreland and Richmond counties enacted new zoning restrictions this month against adult businesses, though none currently operate in either county.
If found guilty, Movie Gallery could face a fine of up to $10,000 and a court order to abolish the conditions that created the public nuisance.
All models were at least 18 years old at the time of their performance. 18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement.
