Authorities Target Spokane Valley Erotic Boutique - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

Authorities Target Spokane Valley Erotic Boutique

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SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - Spokane Valley officials want an adult bookstore on east Sprague to clean up its act.

They've declared the Hollywood Erotic Boutique a "public nuisance," claiming undercover detectives have witnessed inappropriate behavior behind closed doors.

The business owners are not going down without a fight. The boutique owners say they haven't broken any laws, and the city is violating their First and Fourteenth Amendments by targeting them in the first place.

Both sides were in court pleading their case on Friday.

City officials in Spokane Valley say they have no problem with the adult retail shop, but they do have an issue with the rooms upstairs where you can view sexually explicit movies.

The city and the shop's owners have been in a back and fourth conversation that's now in court.

The city says the shop violates its Adult Entertainment Zoning Code with the multi-room video viewing rooms that allow more than one person.

Shop owners claim the city's adult entertainment regulations are too broad and vague.

If the shop is forced to comply with the ordinance, owners believe it will go out of business.

The judge did not make a decision if the shop has to comply.

Both sides say they expect to hear back from the judge in the next few weeks.

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