Indictments against three Kansas City adult businesses — M&M Inc., Smoke Easy Cigarette Outlet and The Stop n’ Go — were handed down on Wednesday by a Wyandotte County grand jury investigating obscenity.
According to the Kansas City Star, M&M Inc. is charged with a single misdemeanor count of promoting obscenity. Smoke Easy is charged with two misdemeanor counts of promoting obscenity and one felony and one misdemeanor count of possession with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia. The Stop ’n’ Go was charged with a single count of possession with intent to deliver drug paraphernalia.
All three businesses are scheduled to appear in court next month.
The indictments are the first three charges handed down as part of a recent grand jury formation in the state. Started July 16 in Kansas’ Johnson County District Court, the groups were given the job of deciding what is obscene and what isn’t by looking at whether a handful of video rental stores and sex shops were promoting obscenity.
The rare grand juries are a result of anti-porn crusader Philip Cosby's campaign to wipe out adult businesses in the Kansas City area. Cosby heads the Kansas City chapter of the National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families (NCPCF). Earlier this year, he organized a petition drive calling for grand jury investigations of 32 adult businesses in Kansas and Missouri for promotion of obscenity. Enlisting the help of church leaders and community activists, Cosby's group delivered the petitions to six county courthouses in May.
According to the report, none of the businesses included in the charges were among the 32 targeted by the petitions.
The Johnson County grand jury has not handed down any indictments.
