A grand jury is currently considering whether or not to indict the Lion’s Den Adult Superstore for promoting obscenity at their location just outside Abilene.
According to the Abilene Reflector-Chronicle two of the fifteen jurors selected for the grand jury had signed the petition calling for the grand jury they now sit on.
Unlike most grand juries, it was not the county prosecutor who called for the grand jury, but Eighth Judicial District judges, in response to a petition filed by the Citizens for Strengthening Community Virtues (CSCV), an anti-porn group that is being advised by the American Family Association Law Center for Law & Policy (AFA) based in Tupelo, Mississippi.
A grand jury can be called by simply gathering less than 300 signatures requesting one.
Senior Judge John Weckel, who oversaw the jury selection process, said that had someone signed the petition and had their mind already made up as to what they wanted, "Then in my opinion, the petition could have become an issue. But, in my opinion, it really wasn't an issue."
"Just like in any jury, you want every juror to be able to be fair and impartial," Weckel told the Reflector-Chronicle. "But the petition does raise the question of if someone did sign the petition, maybe they already have made up their mind. But I don't believe that was a problem at all with this jury."
The grand jury has 90 days to come to their decision on whether or not to indict the adult store, though Weckel predicted a decision probably would not take that long.
If an indictment is handed down, Lion’s Den Adult Store would have to face charges of promoting obscenity, a misdemeanor charge that could lead to up to one year in jail and
The Lion’s Den Adult Superstore in question, located three miles northwest of Abilene on I-70, moved into the Abilene area virtually overnight. The store was featured in a USA Today feature published in December examining the trend of adult retailers opening their doors outside city limits near highways.
Spokesmen for the Lion's Den chain did not respond to interview requests by AVN.com.
The AFA sent their lead counsel, Stephen Crampton, to advise the CSCV on their legal options in seeking to rid their community of the adult store.
Kansas Deputy Attorney General Bryan Brown previously worked under Crampton at the AFA.
The Lion’s Den Adult Store is located less than an hour from the After Dark Video outlet that is also on the I-70, near the Wilson exit. The manager of After Dark Video will go on trial next week on obscenity charges for selling adult novelties.
The AFA is reputed to have advised local anti-porn leaders in the Wilson community as well.
