Sour grapes from a former Follies stripper.
shadowcat
Atlanta suburb
CHAMBLEE, GA (CBS46) -
In a recently filed lawsuit, the owners of Follies Strip Club claim Chamblee police violated their Fourth Amendment rights when they raided the club in February and found no violations. They say the search caused fear and confusion, in part, because the police came in armed and wearing tactical gear.
According to the club's attorney, the February 17 raid was excessive and there was no reasonable basis for it.
When she heard about the lawsuit, a former dancer at the club had this reaction:
"That seemed pretty outrageous to me, given the amount of weapons they have inside the club," she said.
The former dancer, who asked to remain anonymous, told CBS46 the club's security openly carries guns every day, but she says it's meant for keeping the money safe, not the women.
"They're not there to protect you from getting molested or raped, like they don't care about that," she said. "The nature of the club is that customers are allowed to do whatever they want to you. You were there to provide more than just a lap dance. It was more than them just looking at you."
That dancer says she quit working at Follies after someone secretly drugged her drink. She escaped from that situation safely, but CBS46 tracked down another woman who says her friend was raped in the club under similar circumstances.
It happened one week after the February raid.
"I tried to talk to the management there, but they just wanted me out of the club until I told them I was going to call the police, then all of the sudden they wanted to handle it, don't call the police," she said.
The second woman we interviewed, who also wished to remain anonymous, says the dancer called her in distress on Feb 28 and later came to the conclusion she was drugged.
Police arrived and took the woman to a hospital to be tested for rape. So far, there has been no arrest.
The dancer's friend believes the club's lawsuit against police is just a distraction meant to keep police from doing their jobs.
"Everything's out in the open there. It's a big party, and you can't get in any trouble because, hey, the cops can't come in," she said.
If a business sells alcohol, police and fire marshals are allowed to stop by for an administrative check any time they want without a warrant. It's one of the few exceptions to the Fourth Amendment. The club's ownership argues the February raid went beyond a routine check.
The club is also fighting against a recent ordinance that forces strip clubs and businesses serving alcohol to close earlier.
CBS46 tried to get a response to the lawsuit from Chamblee police, but they're not going to talk about it
We also made multiple requests to the club's ownership and its legal counsel to comment on the lawsuit. They repeatedly turned down our offers to have a conversation on the record, even before the claims from former dancers surfaced.
Yes Follies does have armed security but they stay on the outside of the club. Never inside.
In a recently filed lawsuit, the owners of Follies Strip Club claim Chamblee police violated their Fourth Amendment rights when they raided the club in February and found no violations. They say the search caused fear and confusion, in part, because the police came in armed and wearing tactical gear.
According to the club's attorney, the February 17 raid was excessive and there was no reasonable basis for it.
When she heard about the lawsuit, a former dancer at the club had this reaction:
"That seemed pretty outrageous to me, given the amount of weapons they have inside the club," she said.
The former dancer, who asked to remain anonymous, told CBS46 the club's security openly carries guns every day, but she says it's meant for keeping the money safe, not the women.
"They're not there to protect you from getting molested or raped, like they don't care about that," she said. "The nature of the club is that customers are allowed to do whatever they want to you. You were there to provide more than just a lap dance. It was more than them just looking at you."
That dancer says she quit working at Follies after someone secretly drugged her drink. She escaped from that situation safely, but CBS46 tracked down another woman who says her friend was raped in the club under similar circumstances.
It happened one week after the February raid.
"I tried to talk to the management there, but they just wanted me out of the club until I told them I was going to call the police, then all of the sudden they wanted to handle it, don't call the police," she said.
The second woman we interviewed, who also wished to remain anonymous, says the dancer called her in distress on Feb 28 and later came to the conclusion she was drugged.
Police arrived and took the woman to a hospital to be tested for rape. So far, there has been no arrest.
The dancer's friend believes the club's lawsuit against police is just a distraction meant to keep police from doing their jobs.
"Everything's out in the open there. It's a big party, and you can't get in any trouble because, hey, the cops can't come in," she said.
If a business sells alcohol, police and fire marshals are allowed to stop by for an administrative check any time they want without a warrant. It's one of the few exceptions to the Fourth Amendment. The club's ownership argues the February raid went beyond a routine check.
The club is also fighting against a recent ordinance that forces strip clubs and businesses serving alcohol to close earlier.
CBS46 tried to get a response to the lawsuit from Chamblee police, but they're not going to talk about it
We also made multiple requests to the club's ownership and its legal counsel to comment on the lawsuit. They repeatedly turned down our offers to have a conversation on the record, even before the claims from former dancers surfaced.
Yes Follies does have armed security but they stay on the outside of the club. Never inside.
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15 comments
The “bear” has nothing but time and nearly unlimited resources if they decide to make a project out of shutting down a situation. Look a Highliter in PHX if you disagree.
Someone getting drugged and raped is awful.
A former dancer complaining about high mileage dances and sex in VIP is sour grapes. If you're not aware of status quo at Follies before you start working there, you're not doing your homework.
I believe in the non-SJG club world - money is all that matters to most all clubs and club employees - and club’s independent contractors.
although I'll admit IDK very much about how those drugs work but I doubt this is a huge issue in clubs but then again IDK for sure.
Im general, not much can happen to a dancer w/o her consent, the dancer has a choice to stop a dance if she does not like what the custy is doing - a custy is the one paying and is entitled to receive the experience he likes, the dancer has the choice to provide that experience or pass.
A lot of these girls wanna have their cake and it too - they want the big stripper $$$ but on their terms not the customers' terms who is the one paying - some nutjobs on SW claim a custy touching their tit is sexual assault, in a freaking strip club.