Obscenity case headed to trial

STAUNTON—A judge has ruled that the owner of a Staunton adult video store and one of his employees, both charged with selling obscene material, will go to trial June 17.

Rick Krial and his company, LSP of Virginia, face misdemeanor and felony indictments for 12 DVDs sold in October to undercover police officers at After Hours Video. Tinsley W. Embrey, a clerk at the store, also faces misdemeanor and felony charges related to 10 of those videos.

The case hinges on whether the DVDs qualify as “obscene” under Virginia law.

First Amendment lawyers Paul Cambria Jr., representing Krial, and Louis Sirkin, representing Embrey, are heading up the defense team. Both have defended Larry Flynt and other celebrities in past obscenity trials.

“Every time a government official tries to interfere with an adult’s choice of entertainment, that is a national issue,“ Cambria said after yesterday’s hearing.

“I think it’s no accident that they’ve sent in their A-team,“ Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Robertson said of the high-profile defense lawyers. “The fact that they would deign to come to little old Staunton, Va., means they must be worried about something.“

Robertson said that if the defendants are convicted, he hopes to meet with other Virginia prosecutors to “go over methodology” and encourage them to pursue similar cases in their communities.

“I’d love to see a domino effect,“ he said.