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Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Dallas Fights Porn Trade Show in Court

DALLAS (CN) - Dallas has the right to ban a pornography trade show from its convention center because of Exxxotica's "unclean hands:" lewd acts at last year's event that violated its contract, the city told a federal judge Friday.

The city's 60-page response graphically describes video footage of "fondling and touching of breasts and simulated sexual intercourse by oral sodomy" that amounts to public lewdness under state law.

"For example, nude women at Exxxotica fondled, rubbed, and kissed one another's bare breasts and buttocks," the response states. "Several models appeared nude within the 'MyFreeCams.com' area, where they 'performed' live for viewing patrons."

Three Expo Events sued Dallas in February on a First Amendment claim, after the City Council voted 8-7 to ban the event as an impermissible use of a public facility under City Code.

Mayor Mike Rawlings acknowledged that the vote would probably result in a lawsuit , but said the event at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center would not be "good for our city's brand."

The council voted after City Attorney Warren Ernst advised it that the city's sexual-oriented business ordinance does not apply because Exxxotica is a temporary event, not a fixed business.

The city later ignored a last-change letter by plaintiff's attorney Roger Albright to lift the ban and avoid litigation.

Dallas' March 25 response states that Exxxotica representative Jeffrey Handy promised city officials in August 2015 that no Texas Penal Code offenses, such as obscenity or public lewdness, would happen at last year's inaugural event.

"Although Mr. Handy had represented that all Exxxotica Dallas patrons and personnel would be prohibited from 'the display of less than completely and opaquely covered genitals, pubic region, anus or female breasts below a point immediately above the top of the areolas,' in fact, many women at Exxxotica Dallas wore only pasties or tape covering their nipples and areolas and otherwise exposed their breasts," the response states. "Although Mr. Handy had represented that sexual activities, including 'the fondling or other erotic touching of genitals, pubic region, buttocks, anus or female breasts,' were prohibited at Exxxotica Dallas in fact, such sexual activities took place at Exxxotica Dallas, and were observed and recorded."

The city said Handy, who is not a defendant, also failed to arrange for drapes or screens to be placed near the lobby doors to block the view of exhibit space from the outside.

"The booths which were visible from the lobby when the entry and exit doors were open to permit entry and exit included LA Direct Models, Simply Erotic Xtras, Chaturbate, ArrangementFinders.com, MyFreeCams.com and, possibly, Clips4Sale.com," the response states. "The Chaturbate booth included live models wearing pasties and g-strings. The MyFreeCams.com booth included women wearing nothing more than pasties or tape on their nipples and areolas and/or wearing g-strings or similar attire which exposed their buttocks, and was the location where some sexual activities and public lewdness took place."

The city also claims that lessee of last year's expo, Exotica Texas, does not exist.

And it claims the expo failed to check identification as promised and that some attendees saw an unidentified young woman in the exhibit space who did not appear to be 18 years old.

In February, Police Chief David Brown told the City Council his officers observed no crimes at last year's event, nor an increase in prostitution.

Dallas asked the court to deny Three Expo Events' request for an injunction. Its lead attorney is Thomas Brandt, with Fanning Harper Martinson Brandt & Kutchin.

Follow @davejourno
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