Five employees of four different adult retailers in one Texas town were arrested in a single day on obscenity charges.
The Fort-Worth Telegram reports that five employees of Crystal's, Dreamer's Video, XXX Superstore Video and The Log Cabin were arrested yesterday. A sixth employee is wanted on obscenity charges and is expected to turn herself in today.
The stores are all located at the intersection of Interstate 20 and Business U.S. 287, one of the entrances to the city, which is bordered by Fort Worth and Arlington. Kennedale has a population of 5,850.
Officially, the obscenity charges stem from citizen complaints that launched an investigation a month ago. The Telegram reports that a state district judge examined videos and adult novelties gathered by undercover officers and found probable cause that the merchandise violated state obscenity laws.
Kennedale mayor Jim Norwood was elected in May, after running on a platform of driving Adult retailers out of town. Norwood, formerly an Arlington councilman, is a pastor at Oakcrest Family Church in Kennedale.
Earlier this year, Norwood made national headlines when he began photographing the license plates of Adult retail customers. He used the information to track down their addresses, then mailed each a card informing them that they had been spotted.
The cards reportedly included a message about church counseling and classes on "sexual addictions"; a photo of the targeted customer's license plate; and an invitation to stop by the church next time they are in the area.
The Tarrent County district attorney has yet to agree to prosecute the case.
