PRESS STATEMENT

For immediate release: July 9, 2008
Contact:  Phil Burress, David Miller (513) 733-5775

Lawsuit an effort to intimidate civic leaders

On Tuesday, July 8, greater Cincinnati’s tabloid CityBeat filed suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio against Citizens for Community Values, Phil Burress, and 38 other civic leaders, who had appealed to CityBeat to eliminate their adult services category of ads, due to their degrading, sexual nature and because that category of ads has been used by advertisers to promote prostitution.

Members of the coalition appealing to CityBeat included Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis, Cincinnati Police Department Chief Tom Striecher, several other law enforcement officials, plus church and civic leaders.

CityBeat’s suit claims that the coalition's appeal constitutes a “conspiracy to violate (their) protected First Amendment rights” and that the appeal has resulted in a loss of advertising revenue.

In response to the suit, Citizens for Community Values issues the following statement:

On June 6, 2008, Phil Burress, President of Citizens for Community Values (CCV), along with 38 other civic leaders, delivered to the editor and general manager of CityBeat a letter, which requested that CityBeat, in the best interest of the community that it serves, eliminate the adult services category of advertising in both its print and online editions.

On June 9, 2008, the coalition made their appeal public in a press conference held at Cincinnati’s City Hall.

The members of that coalition consider the ads, which were the subject of their appeal, to be an affront to the values of their community.  Further, CityBeat’s adult services category has been used by advertisers to promote prostitution and other sexual services in violation of Ohio criminal law. 

For CityBeat to suggest that this coalition should not be allowed to make such an appeal is, in itself, an attempt to censor the First Amendment rights of each member of the coalition.  

"It comes as no surprise that CityBeat has attempted to use our court system to intimidate CCV, me, and the other 38 community leaders who joined in this appeal," said CCV's Burress. “That ploy has not worked in the past, and will not work now. We relish the opportunity to prove in court the validity of our concerns.”

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PRESS ADVISORY

For Immediate Release:  Monday, June 9, 2008
Contact:  Phil Burress, 513-733-5775, Steve Wagner 202-441-5744,
               Charlie Winburn, 513-884-7832

Coalition asks CityBeat to stop allowing promotion of prostitution
through their print and online classified advertising

Cincinnati, OH– On Friday, June 6, a letter signed by 40 persons representing a diverse coalition of law enforcement personnel, non-profit organizations and concerned civic leaders was hand-delivered to the editor and general manager of CityBeat, a publication, which they feel has become greater Cincinnat’s primary outlet for solicitation and promotion of prostitution and related services. Among the signers are Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis; Cincinnati Police Chief Tom Streicher; Cincinnati Councilman Chris Monzel; and Bishop Dwight Wilkins, President, Interdenominational Ministers Alliance. [Note: Although CityBeat Editor John Fox has denied having received the letter on Friday, an e-mail version has also been provided to him.]
 
This morning, June 9, 2008, that coalition will make their appeal public at a press conference at Cincinnati’s City Hall, 801 Plum Street, Room 115, at 10:00 A.M.
 
“There is no question that the adult classifieds of their print and online editions consist primarily of solicitations for prostitution and promotion of businesses that front for prostitution,” said Phil Burress, president of Citizens for Community Values, one of the organizations signing onto a letter that asks the paper to eliminate their adult category.
 
Burress noted, “The recent investigation and raid of so-called massage parlors and spas that were fronting for prostitution once again drive home the obvious:  These ads are promoting illegal activity and are contributing to the exploitation and trafficking of women. Responsible corporate citizenship demands that they be eliminated. And that’s what we’re asking.
 
Present at the press conference to address sexual exploitation and human trafficking will be Steve Wagner, former director of the Human Trafficking Program at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Karen Legg, former prostitute and dancer, presently director of Stepping Out 24/7; and Charlie Winburn, former Cincinnati City Councilman.

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June 6, 2008

Mr. John Fox, Editor and Co-Publisher
Mr. Dan Bockrath, General Manager and Co-Publisher
Cincinnati CityBeat
811 Race Street, 5th Floor
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

Dear Messrs. Fox and Bockrath:

We, the undersigned, represent a diverse coalition of non-profit organizations, law enforcement agencies and concerned individuals united by a common concern:  the exploitation of women, the devastation of families, and the endangerment of greater Cincinnati’s communities brought about by prostitution and other aspects of the sex-for-sale industry.

Many of the undersigned know first-hand the tragic outcomes of the sex-for-sale industry in that we regularly assist the women, men, children and families who become its victims in greater Cincinnati.  Such victims include but are not limited to the women trapped in this degrading, abusive industry; families that have been dismantled as a result of addictions to such services; and entire communities depressed by the criminal element often associated with this industry.

We approach the management of CityBeat because it has been brought to our attention that the adult classified ad sections of both your weekly print edition and your online edition, CityBeat.com, have become primary avenues through which the sex-for-sale industry in greater Cincinnati markets their destructive services.

The majority of ads in CityBeat’s adult classified section clearly appear to be outright or thinly veiled advertisements for prostitution or other sexual services, many of which are in violation of state criminal laws.  The Organized Crime Division of the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department and the Vice Control Section of the Cincinnati Police Department report that many of the arrests made relating to prostitution, solicitation and promoting prostitution offenses result from phone calls placed to numbers listed under the adult services category of CityBeat and CityBeat.com.

Earlier this month police in Ohio, Indiana and Northern Kentucky raided several “massage parlors” and “spas” in the Tri-State area, making multiple arrests on charges ranging from prostitution and human trafficking to tax evasion and money laundering.  The raids were the culmination of a two-year investigation by a task force consisting of local law enforcement agencies plus several federal agencies including the Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Indianapolis.  Several of the “spas” targeted in the raid were regular CityBeat advertisers.
 
Together, we, the undersigned, therefore appeal to your integrity as a corporate citizen and ask that you eliminate the adult services category, and refuse to accept ads elsewhere for sexual services, in both your print and online editions.  By taking this responsible action you will be assisting us in reaching out in compassion to the many women, men and families negatively impacted by the sex-for-sale industry and will be contributing to the physical and emotional health and safety of the communities that you serve.

Thanks for your consideration of our request and your reply.

Sincerely,

Rev. Jermaine Armour, Representative, Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance
Bishop E. Lynn Brown, Presiding Bishop, 2nd Episcopal District, CME Church
Phil Burress, President, Citizens for Community Values
Paula Bussard, President, Transformation Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky
Jackie Carney, Pregnancy Center West, Inc.
Pastor Gregory Chandler, Sr., World Outreach Christian Church
Rev. Wayne Davis, Pastor, Bethel Baptist Church
Kenton County Attorney Garry Edmondson
Patti Garibay, National Executive Director, American Heritage Girls
Susan M. Gertz, Esq.
Pam Glenn, Executive Director, New Hope Center
Rev. Aaron Greenlea
Joseph Gubasta, Ph. D., President and CEO, Women’s Center for Health, Hope and Healing
Michael Howard, Executive Director, Justice Watch
Bishop Maurice Jackson, President, Metro Area Religious Coalition of Cincinnati
Rev. Joel James, Pastor, James Temple Church of God in Christ
Kathleen Kiely, Executive Director, Care Net Pregnancy Services of Northern Kentucky
Dr. Jerry Kirk, President, Religious Alliance Against Pornography
Sheriff Simon Leis, Hamilton County
Rev. Michael Mack, Pastor, Jerrriel Missionary Baptist Church
Rev. Alex McEntire, Pastor, Word Alive Church
Major Kenneth Maynor, Salvation Army Divisional Commander, Swoneky Division
Councilman Chris Monzel, Cincinnati City Council
Dearborn County Attorney Aaron Negangard
Rev. James Pankey, President, Baptist Ministers Conference
Bobbi Radeck, Director, Concerned Women for America of Ohio
Pastor Richard A. Rose, Sr., Grayroad Church of Christ
Rick Schatz, President, National Coalition for the Protection of Children and Families
Rev. K.Z. Smith
Scott D Stephens,LISW-S, Executive Director, Pregnancy Center East
Thomas H. Streicher, Jr., Police Chief, Cincinnati Police Department
Ford Taylor, Founder of Transformation Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky
Campbell County Attorney Justin Verst
Lori Viars, Executive Director, Family First PAC
Pastor Clarence Wallace, Carmel Presbyterian Church
Paula Westwood, Executive Director, Right to Life of Greater Cincinnati
Bishop Dwight Wilkins, President, Interdenominational Ministers Alliance
Pastor Charlie Winburn, The Church in College Hill