The Penthouse strip club has been ordered to close is doors after Detroit Police Department vice unit says it found evidence of prostitution and drug use inside.
In a press conference held in-front of the strip club, DPD chief James Craig said Wednesday that the police department and the city has successfully worked with adult entertainment businesses in many cases, but that the Penthouse Club has continually violated the city's sexual codes and consent agreements.
"We showed tremendous patience, and we were ignored," Craig said.
Officials said that during a visit to Penthouse, vice officers found used condoms, evidence of drug use, and darkened areas with curtains where prostitution was allegedly occurring.
"The violations were so flagrant because even when vice was on the premises, dancers were trying to engage in solicitations with undercover officers," said Elisabeth Mullins, assistant corporation council with the Detroit Law Department.
Located on 8-mile just east of Evergreen in Detroit, this isn't the Penthouse's first run-in with the law. After violations in 2016, the gentleman's club agreed to close for three months and remodel to fit city codes. According to that agreement, the Penthouse had to eliminate the dark or curtained-off areas, both of which officials said vice officers found this year.
Several city code violations prompted the Detroit law department to file a nuisance action against the Penthouse. In agreeance with the city, Judge Timothy Kenny ruled Tuesday that the club must padlock for a year.
"For a period of five years, the defendants (Penthouse) engaged in repeated, flagrant defiance of the city ordinances and state statutes," Kenny said in his opinion. "Even amongst other adult entertainment clubs in the city of Detroit, Penthouse was viewed as notorious for illegal activity."