Sunday, July 23, 2000 |
An undercover video of teens dancing at the A&T Teen Market helped lead to a court order shutting the club down Friday morning. The teens on the video weren't doing the hokey-pokey, and they weren't doing the lambada, either. Judge Paschal A. English Jr. was so shocked by the video that he characterized the dancing as a dry orgy. He granted the request for a temporary restraining order to shut the club down from Fayetteville City Attorney David Winkle. Those kids were imitating sexual activity, English said. This is the type of activity that is subject to being abated as a nuisance. Police also determined that The Market's operator was using a false name. Taylor Williams' real name is Myron Moorehead, said Maj. Bruce Jordan of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. Moorehead was arrested immediately after the hearing for furnishing harmful material to minors and contributing to the delinquency of minors, Jordan said. A search warrant was executed on the club after the hearing, and further charges against Moorehead could be pending, Jordan added. 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. Michael Bergin, the attorney representing Moorehead, said the dancing was no worse than is shown on MTV and other television stations. He also claimed there is a conspiracy to shut down The Market. That happens to be the style and manner of dancing today, Moorehead 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. 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 the hearing, Bergin said Moorehead offered to shut the club down for the weekend. But English decided to keep the doors shut until a full hearing on the charges can be conducted. 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 Moorehead, and threatened that the city of Fayetteville would face a civil rights lawsuit for shutting the club down.
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