Condoms and douches and swings, oh my!
These are just some of the things found in a report that tries to justify the abrupt closing of Wilton Social Club.
OutSFL has the Reporting Officer Narrative, which describes what an undercover Broward Sheriff’s Office Oakland Park officer says he saw.
Excerpts include: “While checking me in, I observed a large quantity of protective sexual condoms in the rear staff room behind him.”
“I was then showed [sic] many of the ‘play room’ for sexual activity and the areas that have a hand held douche for cleaning the internal area of the anus prior to sexual activity.”
Another line: “One play room had equipment to be strapped to swing apparatus or wooden boards.”
Nowhere in the report does he say he saw anyone having sex on the premises.
Condoms on site? Before PrEP & PEP, bars and restaurants had bowls of them sitting out to promote public health. Douches can be found in nearly any drug store, and having swings/slings and other accouterments is far from illegal.
The report does say he was there after midnight and there was pornography on TVs, both of which are part of the citations issued. Owner Dominic Santarelli says he was applying for a 24-hour license and a Sexually Oriented Business license and had restricted hours in an attempt to comply.
This report was, apparently, turned over to Oakland Park’s code compliance officers, who issued formal citations.
Oakland Park is staying silent and letting the documents talk for them. OutSFL has asked to speak with the head of Code or the officer who issued the citations. All requests for in-person interviews have been denied.
“I think we’ve said everything we have to say at this point,” a spokesperson said. “We would be happy to provide any other documentation that might be helpful.”
To that extent, OutSFL has requested all city emails related to Wilton Social Club from this year, as well as a transcript of the hearing.
While Santarelli has admitted to some violations, he says he corrected them. Other accusations, he outright denies.
What makes this case standout is the level of urgency Oakland Park devoted to shutting them down. WSC was forced to stop operations immediately, which isn’t uncommon. What is uncommon is that they were forced to clear out the space ASAP before any appeals process.
Additionally, Santarelli says they were told to take down all social media accounts. Even if you disregard any First Amendment issues, that seems outside the jurisdiction of the proceeding.
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