HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Harris County officials are suing a local restaurant, accusing the business of serving up more than just food.
Sexy women dancing and baring it all is the kind of thing you'd expect to see in a strip club. But according to the Harris County Attorney's Office, these same things are going at Babe's North Bikini Bar. On Monday, the county filed a lawsuit against the restaurant.
Video shot by undercover vice cops is so raunchy most had to be blurred for TV.
"Women expose themselves in a certain way and interact with customers letting them touch them, feel them, and be with them in ways that are crimes," said Terence O'Rourke, with the Harris County Attorney's Office.
Harris County is suing Babe's North, calling it a public nuisance. Officials said the bar isn't licensed for it.
The county claims it's become a haven for prostitution, street drugs and other crimes.
According to court documents, since January 2011, the owner has repeatedly violated the county's sexually oriented business ordinance and has failed to report crimes to police in a timely manner.
The Harris County Attorney's Office maintains the legal actions it's taking is not an attack on adult entertainment businesses.
"If you're going to have sexually oriented businesses they operate by the rules and there are a lot of them that do," O'Rourke said.
Officials said the bar has had more than 30 calls for police service in the last 18 months.
Our attempts to reach the owner have been unsuccessful, and a man claiming to handle promotions for the bar told Local 2 News he couldn't comment.
Harris County commissioners are set to talk about new requirements for sexually oriented businesses on Tuesday.