HUNTSVILLE, AL – The owner and manager of a strip club in north Alabama were indicted on felony obscenity charges last month, because dancers at the club allegedly bared more of their bodies than Alabama law allows.Shannon Reliford, owner of the Fantasia Club, and manager David Joseph Seagroves were each indicted on three charges, with each count carrying a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and fines of up to $5,000.
Alabama’s obscenity law, which is currently being challenged in court, requires dancers to keep their nipples and most of the buttocks covered while performing. It is considered one of the strictest anti-obscenity laws on the books in America today.
Shannon Reliford’s husband Leroy, who also operates the bar, said authorities have singled out his wife and are treating her unfairly.
“The law is unconstitutional, said Reliford. “It’s selective prosecution.”
Reliford said Fantasia Club is one of several Alabama clubs that have filed suit to block enforcement of the anti-obscenity law, which was passed in 1998 but has been rarely enforced and subject to several legal challenges.
Local authorities initiated a crackdown on exotic dance clubs in late 2005, citing both the anti-obscenity law and state liquor licensing rules. Police raided Fantasia Club on December 29th.
Madison County Sherrif’s Lieutenant Ron Derting said investigators saw dancers exposing their breasts and genitals while dancing. Reliford confirmed that some women were dancing without tops, but said they did not remove their thongs as claimed by police.
Reliford said that strictness of the law amounts to a de facto ban on clubs like Fantasia.
“You can show a little cleavage and that’s about it,” said Reliford. “That’s not any good for our business.”
On top of the obscenity counts, Shannon Reliford also was charged with employing a minor under 18-years-old to perform naked; a 17-year-old dancer was caught in the December raid.
Although Fantasia was closed for just a few hours after the police raid, Reliford said business has been down by close to two-thirds since the crackdown started.
“That’s really the ballgame,” Reliford said. “They want to cause you all the damage they can.”
