A strip club that has been plagued by police raids and prostitution arrests has been ordered closed by Davenport city officials.
The order comes after two strippers at the club pleaded guilty to prostitution charges on Aug. 15 in connection with an undercover investigation of Sugar’s Dancers, 1037 W. 3rd St. here, the Quad Cities Times reported.
Club owner Dorothy Sampson has until Sept. 8 to appeal the ruling. The order also prohibits the building’s owner, Dale Labath, from allowing a similar business to operate there for at least five years.
The order means the club must close immediately and that no new business may reopen at the site for two years without the city’s consent. Sampson is also prohibited from opening another adult business in the city for at least five years.
Prosecutors said the two women were arrested in May during an undercover investigation where officers paid for lap dances with the women who then offered to have sex with them for money.
Police have raided the club five times since 2000 for alleged pimping and prostitution, including one raid that resulted in the business closing for three weeks in 2000. At the time, Sampson was ordered not to supply or display condoms at the club and to remove customers who exposed themselves.
She also promised the city that no prostitution or illegal drug activity would take place at the business or on an outcall basis.
