Swinger Club raided by police?!

[Mary&Bill]

Have any of you ever heard of a swinger's club being raided by the police and the patrons arrested?

We belong to a yahoo group and someone just posted that about a club we've been to in Connecticut. This person said it happened last Friday night.

I don't understand why or how the police could do this. I didn't think sex between consenting adults was illegal. It is an on premise club and they let people bring their own alcohol, but do not sell any.

And we almost went on Friday night, but couldn't get a babysitter. I keep thinking that what would we do if we were arrested -- this is a very private part of our lives and I sure wouldn't want friends or family to find out.

Anyone ever hear about something like this happening? Is there a place where I can check my local laws to make sure what we are doing is legal?

Thanks,

[mrbandsatl]

We have seen it twice here in Atlanta. Both times, the charges were dropped against the patrons. Once they were dropped against the club owners.

I believe the excuse in the first case was an improper business license. In the other, they were serving alcohol without a permit and there was a minor on the premises.

Since all the clubs here are now private and do not sell alcohol on premise, there have been no more incidents. We hope it stays that way!!!

Cheers,
Bob (and Sandy)

[Tantra]

Is there a legal distinction between an on-premise club and a private party? I know that charging a fee involves a whole new set of rules.

Is the act of swinging itself illegal?

Perhaps some of our fellow swingers who are lawyers can answer these questions for us.

[johnlyn4u]

Hey Mary & Bill,
We're in CT too. Which club? Have you heard any more about this?

[fun_pairTX]

Laws are going to vary by jurisdiction and enforcement is going to depend on how well the sherrif and County/District Attorney are doing in the polls for the next election. If either are behind you can expect a little grandstanding.

[willytt]

The town of Berlin has an ordanence (sic) of how adult clubs operate in that town. They used this as an excuse to raid this club. The charges should be dropped once it hits the courts (let's hope) Everone where I work was talking about this today.

my 2 cents,

Tom

[Mary&Bill]

It was Mingles in Berlin. There's an article on the front page of today's Hartford Courant or you can read the article on ctnow.com

According to the article, the owners were charged with 14 counts of violating the town's ordinance on sexually oriented businesses.
"Officers took down the names of all patrons found inside the club at 161 Mill St. during the raid at 3:57 a.m. Saturday. More arrests are expected, police said."

And we had plans to go there on Friday night too, but couldn't get a babysitter! Wow

What I don't understand is why Mingles was violating sex ordinances when there are dozens of strip clubs all along the Berlin Turnpike. And I do mean dozens. These places are topless and bottemless and some are quite raunchy. Not too mention all the hourly rate motels. Hmmm -- wonder what's going on in those rooms?

Have you ever been to Mingles? It was the best swing club we had been to in Connecticut. What a shame.

M and B

[johnlyn4u]

Wow! I grabbed the paper and read the article. I would never have guessed that there was anything illegal about a club like that. It appears that Berlin has some strict local ordinances about signs for any sexually oriented businesses.

We've been there three times. Never hooked up with anyone, but I guess they were taking names whether you were doing anything or not.

It's too bad, we really enjoyed going there.

I also didn't like the tone of the article. They quoted several of the reviews that you can read on this board. It made me feel like big brother was watching.

Oh well....Does anyone know of anyplace else in the area that's as nice?

[EternallySingle]

In some communities, paying a cover charge or membership fee in order to gain entry to a building for the sole purpose of having sex is enough for that building to be deemed a house of prostitution. The legality of prostitution, contrary to popular belief, is left up to individual communities, not the state or national government. It is a federal offense to transport a woman across state lines for the purpose of prositution, and illegal to hold a woman in a house of prostitution at the expense of her civil rights to come and go as she pleases, but prostitution is defined by the local government, as is pornography.

[Mary&Bill]

There's a swingers club in Bridgeport - NEC Fantasy - that's having something this Saturday night. We had planned to go, but now I'm not so sure. I'm worried the police might have their eye on that place to.

My husband ofcourse thinks it's fine to go, but I really would be worried the whole night and that would just ruin the fun.

Mary

[lovers]

Unfortunately, some swingers clubs do get raided. But it's not common.

Here in Canada, Club Eros was raided a number of years back and anybody found inside was arrested. Thanks to some brillant organization by the club owners and a good legal team the charges were dropped. There was a club in Montreal that went through the same thing and a majority of the charges were dropped in that case. I am also aware that police have often gone undercover to some of the Toronto off-premise clubs and not found a reason to lay charges or investigate further.

Basically I think that off-premise clubs have nothing to worry about. As for on-premise clubs, that's a bit of a grey area. As we don't have a lot of those in Canada, it doesn't seem to be an issue (yet).

[namdloytrid]

E'lan in NH was shut down recently (unfortunate since it was the closest/best place near us).

I wasn't there at the time but from what I heard, although the police observed people having sex, they said that nobody was breaking the law except the homeowners, which was simply a zoning violation (for running a business in a residential area). Also no one was arrested and no names were taken.

[JustAskJulie]

NEC let me know earlier this week that they were closing, my guess is that it may have something to do with the raid on Mingles.

As for the laws they do vary from area to area and it's up to the club owners to make sure that they are following the letter of the law. Unfortunately, too often they allow a gap that can result in something like this happening.

If a club is a private members club in a private building the police can not enter without a warrant (ie. without just cause), so they need to have a reason to come in.

It's important that you talk to your local club owners about what precautions they take regarding their club. Have they sought out the advice of a lawyer regarding their business? Do they keep a lawyer on retainer to ensure that they are following the letter of the law? These are important things to know.

I know we have a couple of NASCA reps on the board here, so hopefully they'll stop by and give us some more details on this subject.

[bear_n_bunny]

Interesting that this came up, because one of our more popular off-premise clubs was supposedly raided over the weekend (for those of you familiar with Houston, it was Coach's). However, come to find out, no one was arrested, and they didn't even bring up the house lights. Doesn't sound like much of a raid to me... While a little lick-and-suck might take place now and then in the back room, it doesn't happen very often, certainly not enought to warrant a raid. It's mainly drinking, dancing and bit of grabass, but that's it. People generally go elsewhere to actually do the deed (plenty of hotels nearby, so there's no need to run any undue risks there).

Now, one of the oldest clubs in town, Wish's, has been raided countless times over the years. But then, in years past, that place was a regular nonstop orgy, or so legend has it. However, these days it's pretty tame compared to it's wild past.

I don't know about other places, but certainly around here if you are going to an on-premise club (which actually consists of (usually) a private home or something similar), as long as they are not selling liquor (none do), the law can't set foot on the place without a warrant. And it's damn sure no "house of prostitution" (got a good laugh out of that one). All you are paying for is the priveledge of admission to the place to attend a party. If you happen to get lucky in the nooky department, fine, but no one is promising anything. That's not a "house of prostitution" and any lawyer worth his/her salt could get that thrown out in a heartbeat.

-- Bear

[pmonh2o]

my mate and i have one had one at home meeting , but i have always want to go to one of the club parties. only i don't want my first time to be in the back of a police car.:sad::eek: