Texas Woman Who Sold Sex Toy Has Charges Dropped

Reuters ^ | Mon Jul 19, 2004 05:19 PM ET | Jon Herskovitz

[Lurking Libertarian]

DALLAS (Reuters) - A Texas woman charged with violating obscenity laws for selling a sexual toy and explaining to her customer how to use it has had the case against her dismissed, court officials said on Monday.

Joanne Webb, a mother of three and a former schoolteacher in the town of Burleson near Forth Worth, was facing up to a year in jail after she sold a vibrator at a private party to two undercover police officers posing as a married couple.

The case received national attention because it touched off a debate on whether a person should be jailed for selling vibrators to adults.

[Lurking Libertarian]

From the article:

Johnson County Attorney Bill Moore said in a statement that his office last week asked a judge to dismiss the case in order to prevent the county from wasting resources on it.

[Dinsdale]

Now if there was only some way to reduce the police budget for next year by the amount they wasted bringing the case.

[goldstategop]

Good. No one should ever have to go to jail for running a legitimate business. Sure, some people get offended by sales of sex toys but no one forces them to buy the stuff. That's what great about America, you get to decide whose customer you want to be.

[johnfrink]

Joanne Webb, a mother of three and a former schoolteacher in the town of Burleson near Forth Worth, was facing up to a year in jail after she sold a vibrator at a private party to two undercover police officers posing as a married couple.

Good to know that murder, rape, assault, and grand theft have all been erradicted and that the cops can move on to things like this.

[RonHolzwarth]

Clipped from the article:

"But when a person markets the items in a direct manner that shows how they are used in sex, it is considered criminal obscenity."

So then, by extension, marketing condoms and ALL OTHER forms of birth control are a "criminal obscenity???

[kcvl]

This is an older article...

Chris Webb, left, and his wife, Joanne, leave the Johnson County Courthouse on Monday after a judge granted a delay in her pretrial hearing.

Among the company's top items are a $12 jar of passion pudding in chocolate and strawberry flavors ("apply head to toe, wherever you want your lover to linger"), a $9 jar of nipple cream in strawberry, raspberry and watermelon flavors, and battery-powered vibrators that sell for $17 to $140. The company also offers such lubricants as Slippery Stuff ($13), Lickety Lube ($12) and Lucky Stiff ($11.50), and a $22 battery-powered item for men known as Jelly Julie ("with soft jelly silicone lips").

Webb suspects she got in trouble because she ruffled feathers in town by daring to join the Chamber of Commerce with her sex toy business. She said her arrest had caused her husband of 20 years to suffer a nervous breakdown.

[billhilly]

The headline was misleading. I thought she sold a priest.

[kcvl]

But it's come at a personal cost. Her sister in Houston has disowned her.

"Basically, my sister has told me I am no longer welcome in her home," Joanne Webb said.

[Aut Pax Aut Bellum]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...............................

[kcvl]

Chris and Joanne Webb live in Burleson, a town of 25,000, south of Fort Worth.

The Webbs call themselves active Christians who vote Republican.

"We've raised three kids who have all accepted Christ as their savior. That's a big thing that parents hope for and push for. We've tithed. We've served. We've been on committees," Chris Webb said.

Joanne Webb is a former schoolteacher who is one of the Chamber of Commerce's top volunteers.

"Those kids and that family are first class. They volunteer. They give their heart to the community," said Greg Solomon, the chamber's president.

When Joanne Webb started hosting Passion Parties for women and selling lotions, books and toys to spice up a couple's love life, she registered her business with the chamber.

snip


Joanne Webb did not know she was the focus of an undercover sting until a month later when a police officer called her and told her there was a warrant out for her arrest.

An officer told her that police were going to raid her home so her husband packed up the products and hit the road.

"They (were) in a box in the back of the van and (I made) a dash for the county line," Chris Webb said.

Joanne Webb said some prominent city leaders were behind it, but those same people at police headquarters and city hall refused to talk to News2Houston about it.

A clerk explained how some think.

"Why does she have to show how (the product) works?" the unidentified woman said.

snip

"Is it worth it? Yes, I have been in these parties and seen the difference it can make in women's lives to be able to become more comfortable with their sexuality," Joanne Webb said.

snip

Attorney BeAnn Sisemore filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas obscenity law, which she said, is so broad many Texans could be arrested.

"The law tells us if we possess six or more items that are designed or marketed as useful primarily for stimulations of the human genital organs that we violate this law," Sisemore said.

[RonHolzwarth]

",,, two undercover police officers posing as a married couple,,,"

Did they pose that way later that night? Hope it was a LEGAL position!

[Fishing-guy]

Did he mention why he brought this case up in the first place?

[dpwiener]

Johnson County Attorney Bill Moore said in a statement that his office last week asked a judge to dismiss the case in order to prevent the county from wasting resources on it.

Of course he doesn't mention the financial resources that Joanne Webb wasted in order to fight these ridiculous charges. Still, it's surprising that he even cares about the cost to the county -- after all, it's just taxpayer dollars.

Perhaps Johnson County Attorney Bill Moore should have given a little thought to all this before he brought the charges in the first place? And then no resources would have been wasted, and Joanne Webb wouldn't have had to undergo this ordeal.

[Fishing-guy]

If that is the case, they better start building more jails.

[Lurking Libertarian]

Did he mention why he brought this case up in the first place?

From the snipped portion of the article:

"According to reports in local media and residents of Burleson close to the issue who asked not to be identified, a few prominent citizens with strong Christian beliefs were angered by Webb and her activities. They asked police to investigate."

[Paleo Conservative]

Has Charges Dropped

Did the batteries run out?

[longshadow]

Nice to know the nanny-state is busy protecting unsuspecting, innocent citizens from being attacked by "assault" vibrators.

< /sarcasm mode>

[JayNorth]

",,, two undercover police officers posing as a married couple,,,"

Why do bureaucrats never go to jail for using public money and assets to pursue a personal vendetta? This kind of stuff (and the roadblocks to "check for valid drivers licenses" mentioned on another thread earlier today) are making a mockery of our constitution.

[ex 98C MI Dude]

I didn't think any state tried to enforce their 'blue' laws anymore. Maybe this was an attempt to get the law overturned in court.

Most blue laws need to be repealed, but some are still necessary, such as anti-sodomy laws. The AIDS problem show that they were in place for a reason.