Ohio – A West Chester Township video store was convicted Monday of selling obscene videos.
In a deal similar to that made in past video obscenity cases – including VIP video and adult entertainment mogul Larry Flynt’s stores – charges were dismissed against the store owner, Jeffery Busemeyer, of Cincinnati, and refiled against the corporation, Pik Kwik Market Company Inc.
Pik Kwik, 10044 Princeton Glendale Road, was convicted of two counts of pandering obscenity, a fifth-degree felony. Butler County Common Pleas Judge Patricia Oney fined the business $2,000 and ordered it to refrain from selling obscene videos.
The plea was seen as a successful resolution by both Butler County Prosecutor Robin Piper and defense attorney Louis Sirkin.
“When I was elected to office I accepted the obligation to hold vendors of obscenity accountable,” Piper said. “Proving obscenity can be a difficult task. In this case, however, the Pik Kwik store pleaded guilty because we were ready for trial and these two films were not defendable under community standards.”
The films were titled “Breakfast at Mike Hott’s” and “Forced to Lactate 5.”
Sirkin, a well-known First Amendment attorney, said he was pleased with the “very practical resolution.”
“It is a business decision. It makes good business sense,” he said.
Assistant Prosecutor Steve Tolbert, chief of the prosecutor’s office Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, handled the case. He and Sirkin are not strangers to this type of case.
Tolbert formerly worked in Hamilton County, where he successfully forced Larry Flynt and his brother Jimmy out of business. Sirkin has defended several clients accused of pandering obscenity, including the Flynts, and Barbi and Peter Tomaino, who own adult-oriented VIP Video stores in Hamilton and Millville.
Tolbert and Sirkin said the Pik Kwik plea was similar to that made in past obscenity cases they have handled.
Piper marked the conviction as the second victory obtained since he took office three years ago.
In November, My Movies, another video distributor in West Chester Township, closed its operation rather than risk having a grand jury view some of the videotapes it was selling, Piper said.
Piper’s obscenity section also has successfully prosecuted about 15 child pornography cases, he said.
Piper said the recent convictions are “getting the message out there very clearly.”
“Our message is clear. Community standards are being redefined and have in fact resulted in numerous prosecutions. We have altered the way some businesses are doing business in Butler County,” he said.
Prior to the Pik Kwik indictment, Piper had been criticized by some residents and a family values organization. They claimed he wasn’t living up to a campaign promise.