LITCHFIELD, Minn. — A judge has ordered a strip club owner in Cosmos to sell his interest in the club as part of a conviction for promoting prostitution.

Meeker County District Judge David Mennis imposed the condition Tuesday on Dale Owen Peterson, 51, of rural Clarkfield. Mennis ordered Peterson to sell his interest in the Juice Bar club by Jan. 28.

Mennis also sentenced Peterson to 15 years on probation, and barred him from having any role in a sexually oriented business during his probation.

Mennis also ordered Peterson to undergo a psychiatric evaluation for sexual addiction or compulsive behavior problems, and pay a $1,500 fine. He stayed a 1 1/2-year prison sentence.

Prior to issuing the sentence, Mennis told Peterson that he arrived in court with a “road map of problems” related to strip clubs he operated in Montevideo and Boyd in 1994 and 1997. And, he told Peterson that he had not learned from his past experience.

After pleading guilty to allowing a minor to perform at his Cityside club in Montevideo, the judge quoted Peterson as telling the court: “I’m never going to go back into that sort of business again where you know, it can mess up people’s lives.”

Minneapolis attorney Avery L.E. Appelman, who represented Peterson, told the judge that the prosecution was “politically motivated.” He said law enforcement officials raided the Juice Bar twice, claiming that it was “stripped to the studs” during the first raid.