Staunton video store owner going to trial

Rick Krial has been making waves in Staunton since opening his adult video store in September 2007. Now he's heading to trial on misdemeanor and felony charges for selling obscene materials to undercover police officers, according to the Waynesboro News Virginian.

Staunton's Commonwealth Attorney, Ray Robertson, who has been praised and criticized for his part in prosecuting this case, reflected on the heavy hitters who are defending Krial:

“I think it’s no accident that they’ve sent in their A-team,” Commonwealth Attorney Ray Robertson said, referring to the high-profile defense lawyers involved in the case. “The fact that they would deign to come to little old Staunton, Va., means they must be worried about something.”

First Amendment lawyers Paul Cambria Jr., representing Krial, and Louis Sirkin, representing Embrey, are heading up the defense team. Both have defended Larry Flynt and other celebrities in past obscenity trials.

“Every time a government official tries to interfere with an adult’s choice of entertainment, that is a national issue,” Cambria said after the hearing.

Trial is set for June 17, 2008.

Staunton adult video store owner charged with selling obscene videos

Staunton prosecutor Ray Robertson (D) has charged adult video store owner Rick Krial with 16 counts of selling obscene videos. Virginia State Police and Waynesboro and Staunton undercover officers helped with the investigation.

This follows the recent opening of the store that has been protested by nearby residents because of its content which resulted in the formation of a Citizens Task Force against Pornography. Members of the community in both Staunton and Augusta County approached their governing bodies to put strict zoning ordinances in place before future adult businesses move to the area.

In Timberville, north of Harrisonburg, citizens are also working with their governing body to put ordinances in place for adult-related businesses.

Krial owns 12 adult businesses in Virginia and Maryland. When asked why he chose a community like Staunton to set up shop, he said he owned land there.

The Citizens Task Force plans to be at the November 8, 2007, meeting of Staunton City Council when the proposed ordinances are supposed to be presented by the Planning Commission. They are encouraging all in the community who would like to see ordinances in place to prevent adult businesses from settling near schools, libraries, neighborhoods, churches, and other family-friendly places to attend the meeting.

The meeting will be held in Staunton's City Hall at 7:30 on Thursday, November 8, 2007.

Augusta: Concerned citizens approach BOS about zoning ordinances for adult businesses

Augusta County residents approached the Board of Supervisors Wednesday night to request strict zoning ordinances to be placed on adult businesses that sell pornographic materials. Trying to avoid a similar situation as Staunton finds itself in with a business that is already open, the citizens urged the Board to be proactive and put ordinances in place as soon as possible.

Travis Smithdeal, Republican candidate for the Board of Supervisors / Pastures District, addressed the Board for the second time on behalf of the Citizens Task Force. Such ordinances could limit adult businesses from locating near schools, libraries, neighborhoods, historic places, and playgrounds.

Travis carried petitions with 1,500 signatures and told the Board that petitions were still being circulated in the community. He also presented a Resolution that was unamiously passed by the Augusta County Republican Committee urging the Supervisors to enact zoning ordinances.

Sharon Pettyjohn of Augusta County also addressed the Board about this issue, citing studies that document more criminal acts regarding children because of pornography. Saying she had spoken with businesses in the county, she had discovered they were not aware there were no ordinances at all to restrict such stores.

Joe Steele of Augusta County told the Board he is a new resident to the area who moved here earlier this year from Southern California where he had lived for 33 years in a neighborhood that had been quiet but had changed over the years. Adult businesses moved in and he saw how it ruined the community. Saying he moved here to get away from that, he read a statement to the Board:

The Valley has been spared the depravity of the metropolitan areas for many generations. But the people escaping the metropolitan areas have found the Valley. We cannot ignore the fact that change is happening. The question is will our supervisors manage the change with an eye on keeping the Valley’s values in tact or will they play ignorant and hope it will go away.

With the people escaping the metropolitan depravities, a stowaway has come. He calls himself an entrepreneur. His product is smut. He ignores the pollution of crime it creates. He cares for nothing for our Valley.

Don’t think that because we have good people here his business will not be frequented. The people who frequent his business will come from somewhere else where they are known and don’t want to be seen at such a place.

It may have started but we have an opportunity to keep it from spreading. We have available a proven and approved ways to control it and keep it from spreading. Wake up and take action. The cost is lower now. The price of waiting is enormous. Cleaning up after the fact takes decades. The damage affects generations upon generations.

Fred Hollen, a high school teacher in Augusta County, approached the Board and told them such stores were offensive to him and usually resulted in decay in the areas surrounding them causing property values to decrease. He urged the Board to study the possibility of passing strong ordinances to restrict adult businesses.

The Board said the matter needed to be advertised for a public hearing and then sent to the Planning Commission. It has been placed on the October 22 work session schedule and may be addressed at the October 24 regularly scheduled meeting but more likely will come up in November.

Adoption of resolution to restrict location of "adult" stores

A Resolution to Restrict Pornography Businesses in Augusta County, Virginia
Adopted by the Augusta County Republican Committee October 9, 2007
Presented to the Board of Supervisors October 10, 2007

Whereas, the United States ranks 4th in the world for pornography usage, spending $13.33 billion a year as a whole; and

Whereas, the average age of a child's first exposure to pornography is 11 years old; and

Whereas, the pornography industry receives more revenue than the following top tech companies combined; Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix, and EarthLink; and,

Whereas, in a research study conducted by the American Academy of matrimonial lawyers in 2002, 56% of divorce cases reported having at least one party having an obsessive interest in internet porn; and,

Whereas, in a study of convicted child molesters, 77% of those who molested boys and 87% of those who molested girls admitted to the habitual use of pornography in the commission of their crimes; and,

Whereas, Augusta County has 89 registered sex offenders; therefore, be it

Resolved that we, the citizens of Augusta County, Virginia, support strict zoning ordinances to limit where "adult" businesses can locate. Such zoning ordinances may limit the distance an adult store can be from schools, playgrounds, churches, and historic buildings.