El Paso, Tex- The alleged activity occurred inside one of the best known strip clubs in El Paso. The investigation at the Naked Harem started more than a year ago after allegations there were underage girls dancing there. By the time the investigation was over, the city had passed an ordinance cracking down on sexually oriented businesses.

Naked Harem co-owners Phyllis Woodall and Jeannie Coutta and their managers hope to bond out of jail this week. They were arrested Thursday, after a yearlong investigation. City Representative John Cook says he’s happy with the police department’s work on the investigation. The four women are charged with aggravated promotion of prostitution and taking part in organized crime. Those things have been illegal for a long time, but Cook says the city’s new sexually oriented business law helped narrow the focus on such businesses.

“What was actually happening was crime was going on at the same time, things that were already illegal”, says Cook.

The ordinance adds the city’s prohibition to activity that’s already illegal, such as prostitution, obscenity and minors working in strip clubs. But the ordinance is successful only if it’s enforced. “All it gets down to is enforcement, you can have all the ordinances in the world, but if you don’t aggressively enforce them, then you may not have an ordinance in the first place,” says Cook.

And if convicted the ordinance would prohibite them from ever getting another strip club license. Three other people with two different strip clubs were also arrested. All seven are being held under bonds from 200 to 500-thousand dollars. A bond reduction hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.