Club owner busted for lewd teen dancing

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Club owner busted for lewd teen dancing

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lawyer for owners of The Market teen club in

Fayetteville Monday characterized a police

investigation of the club as "a witch

hunt."

But

when Superior Court Judge Paschal English viewed

a videotape of dancing at the club Friday, he

said the activity amounted to a "dry

orgy."

Fayette

Chief Magistrate A.K. Melear Monday afternoon set

a $60,000 bond for club operator Taylor Alexander

Williams after he spent the weekend in the

Fayette County Jail while The Market remained

closed under the court order.

Williams,

38, posted bond and was released from jail Monday

evening after 10 p.m. According to jail records,

the bond totalled $66,150 and was posted through

Fayette Bonding. He was arrested Friday for

misdemeanor charges of contributing to the

delinquency of a minor and providing harmful

materials to a minor during the operation of the

teen club. Williams also was charged with one

felony count of reproducing previously recorded

material after police found what they believe are

pirated CDs.

In

a press conference Friday, police said Williams

had given a false name, but during the hearing

Monday, Williams' lawyer, Michael Bergin, said

his client had legally changed his name to

Williams from Myron Moorehead while he was in

California. Authorities revealed Friday that a

fingerprint check on Williams indicated that his

name was actually Myron Moorehead.

During

the bond hearing Monday, Maj. Bruce Jordan of the

Fayette County Sheriff's Department pointed out

that Williams also gave police two different

dates of birth. He questioned whether Williams

could legally change his birthdate.

Jordan

also stated that Williams was wanted in Chicago

for "weapons violations." But Chicago

authorities did not want to extradite him, said

Fayetteville Police Lt. Linda Lash.

Bergin

said his client couldn't make the $50,000 bond

recommended by the state. He also told Melear

that Williams' wife and three children depend on

him as their sole source of income and the family

lives in a $400,000 home.

Bergin

also argued that dancing at the club, which

police have said resembles sexual activity more

than dancing, was not Williams' fault.

"These are not dances he taught them,"

Bergin said of his client. "To be popular

with the kids, you have to hire the DJs they

want."

The

attorney also pointed out that the club

contracted with police officers from Fayetteville

to provide private security.

Melear

set the bond for the felony charge at $50,000 as

requested by police, and added $5,000 for each of

the two misdemeanor charges.

After

the hearing, Bergin said he did not know whether

the corporation operating the club, Platinum

Holdings Inc., would post Williams' bond.

Clifford

E. Levingston, a former professional basketball

player with the Atlanta Hawks who police say is a

co-owner of The Market, turned himself in Monday

at noon and posted a $30,000 consent bond, Jordan

said. He faces the same charges as Williams.

The

Market was shut down temporarily after a court

hearing Friday. Superior Court Judge Paschal

English issued a temporary restraining order

against the operation of the club after he saw an

undercover video shot at the club by an operative

from the Fayette County Sheriff's Department.

After

seeing the video, English said the youths

involved appeared to be imitating sexual acts.

Jordan

said he wants to allow local parents to watch the

video to see if their children are caught on the

tape.

If

so, the parents could decide to file other

charges on their own, Jordan said. But the

Sheriff's Department is waiting for a ruling on

that from the district attorney's office, Jordan

added.

During

Monday's bond hearing for Williams, Bergin

claimed the CDs confiscated from the club were

the property of a disc jockey the club had hired

as an independent contractor. Jordan confirmed

that the CDs were taken from a booth area of the

club, which Bergin contended was the disc

jockey's area.

The

Sheriff's Department began its investigation back

in June when a parent complained of gang activity

at the club, Jordan testified. He also said one

adult had watched inside the club at a special

viewing room, but other adults who attempted

later were denied access to that room.

The

viewing area was shut down after the Fayetteville

police officers quit performing security at the

club, Bergin said after the bond hearing. He

added that authorities also seized financial

records from the club during a search warrant

that was executed Friday.

When

Bergin tried to characterize the type of dancing

as that seen on cable TV stations, Jordan said he

watched those stations over the weekend and

didn't see dancing like the dancing caught on

tape by the undercover operative.

"They're

not just bumping up against each other,"

Jordan said. "They're having sustained

contact for periods of time."

The

video was taken at The Market July 7 by an

undercover operative for the Sheriff's

Department. An edited version of the video played

in court depicted one couple "dancing"

totally flat on the floor, with one dancer on top

of the other.

"That

happens to be the style and manner of dancing

today," Williams said. He later admitted

that some people might consider the dancing

"sexual in nature."

"It's

much better that the kids be in public

view," Bergin argued.

Fayetteville

City Attorney David Winkle said the dancing was

"obscenity the community is no longer

willing to tolerate." He argued that the

operation of The Market constitutes a public

nuisance.

"There

are reports of gang activity, unlicensed weapons

possession, fighting and alcohol," Winkle

said during a hearing last Friday.

Winkle

said police have reported youths as young as 10

years old allowed into the club. He also pointed

out that the club originally was represented as a

Christian-oriented hangout for teens.

Bergin

claimed that race also was a factor in motivating

the case against Williams, and threatened that

the city of Fayetteville would face a civil

rights lawsuit for shutting the club down.

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