YULEE, FL.—Even in the smallest burg, all it apparently takes is a single sighting of the infamous "Girls Gone Wild" bus to get law enforcement swinging into action. That's just what happened Friday when a Good Samaritan saw trouble brewing in Yulee, Florida.
"Nassau County Sheriff Tommy Seagraves was tipped off by a concerned citizen who saw a 'Girls Gone Wild' bus in town," reports the Florida Times-Union. "Deputies investigated the incident because it's illegal to operate a sexually oriented business in Nassau County or to expose yourself in public. Therefore, some of the film crew's activities might violate the law."
The bus was parked at The Mill Night Club. Undercover officers were dispatched and observed men in the bar encouraging several women to show their breasts so they could film them, and also offering to spray-paint their breasts for the cameras. Arrests followed.
Kim Karim Bateh, the club's owner, was arrested for operating a sexually-oriented business and also on obscenity charges, as were Thomas William Ryan and Michael Daniel Bateh, who were at the bar at the time.
"Girls Gone Wild" employees Paul Thomas Simmons and Robert Wayne Decorah Illo also were arrested, on charges of operating a sexually oriented business and obscenity, according to the Times-Union, which reports that four other men were detained for a variety of offenses that included engaging in a sexual offense, resisting arrest without violence, disorderly intoxication and prohibition of certain acts in connection with obscene, lewd materials.
Seven women also were sent to the hoosegow, charged with indecent exposure. "Girls Gone Wild" owner Joe Francis was not present.
The Times-Union sought comment from The Mill Night Club, but "couldn't find a working phone number for the bar."
