Affidavit: Gary strip club front for prostitution
A tip about a Gary strip club allegedly serving booze shots without a liquor license led to the discovery that several dancers were offering sex acts in private rooms at Honey’s Private Gentleman’s Club, a criminal affidavit alleges.
Anthony T.C. Kirkland, 37, and Maria T. Dorsey, 31, both of Gary, were charged Wednesday with promoting prostitution, a level 5 felony, maintaining a common nuisance, a level 6 felony, unauthorized furnishing of an alcoholic beverage, and sale of an alcoholic beverage without a license, both class B misdemeanors.
Arrest warrants were issued Wednesday with Kirkland to be held without bond, while Dorsey would be held on a $4,000 cash bail, records show.
Court documents portray Kirkland as the “owner” and Dorsey as an employee. However, state records show the business registered under a different man’s name.
An anonymous tipster told the Indiana State Excise Police on Dec. 13, 2021, that the club, 8120 Melton Road, was serving vodka cocktails without a license, which state records later confirmed, charges state.
Two plainclothes officers went to the club Feb. 5, with backup nearby. A man later identified as Kirkland checked their identification cards and took a $20 cover charge, later selling them $10 alcoholic “honey shots” from a cooler, charges state.
While talking with the dancers, one officer learned “anything goes” with a $150 private dance in a VIP room. Kirkland told them it was a “full-service gentleman’s club,” the affidavit states.
Both officers declined and left, with one saying he would have to win some money at the Hard Rock Casino to afford it.
The pair returned Feb. 18. A different man at the counter checked their IDs and sold shots. A woman, who gave the alias “Liz,” told one officer he could get a sex act in the VIP room for $100, documents allege. The man declined, learning the woman said she was from southern Indiana.
“It appeared that very few, if any, of the dancers were local,” the affidavit states.
A second officer paid the club $30 for a “private” dance, documents allege. When he asked what happened in the VIP room, she said a sex act would cost $150 with sex costing $200, the affidavit alleges. He declined.
The men returned March 4, where Dorsey worked the front counter. A dancer known as “Cajun” approached the men, asking if they liked “to party” and if they wanted to buy ecstasy tablets or cocaine, which both refused.
The first officer bought a $30 dance from her, but declined sex acts, the affidavit states. The man paid for a second dance with another dancer named “Dream,” but their conversation “did not yield any additional information.” The second officer also paid for a dance and spoke with another woman before the two men left.
The men returned for a fourth time March 11, documents state. The second officer agreed to pay a dancer $250 for a sex act, but none were “conducted,” according to the affidavit.
Police, including the two officers, raided the club that night, charges state. Dorsey later said she was told not to let the police inside. Officers seized a handgun, ammunition, 14 bottles of liquor and wine, and other items, including iPhones.
During police interviews, several dancers or employees pointed to “TK” — or Kirkland — as the “owner,” documents state. The women said “different girls do different things,” and some dancers said they feared violent “retaliation” from him, charges state.
Whether sex acts were explicitly allowed “depended on who was working security,” one woman said.
A second search warrant for the club’s two Facebook pages showed messages on the club’s operations between Kirkland and Dorsey, including alluding to how it would get paid for one dancer to get set up in a VIP room, documents state.
A search on megapersonals.eu, a known website for soliciting prostitution, showed the club clandestinely advertised there, charges state.
“I will be at Honey’s 8120 Melton Rd. Gary IN TONIGHT ONLY !! Ask for Milan at the door. I’ll take care of you. Also available for private parties and sensual massages.”
The club appears to be a former Gainer Bank branch.