Rapid City, South Dakota Valiantly Protects Citizens From Adolescent Boners

I'd estimate that about 40 percent of my adolescent sex education was informed by the aisles of the Spencer's Gifts at Washington Square Mall in Indianapolis. So this story hit close to the . . . heart.

Spencer Gifts LLC could face criminal charges in the coming days because the city says the national retailer is operating an unlicensed adult-oriented business at Rushmore Mall.

On Monday, the Rapid City Police Department seized more than 2,000 sex-related products from Spencer's as possible evidence that the store meets the definition of an adult-oriented business.

City Attorney Jason Green said Tuesday he anticipated filing charges within a week based on the information gathered from Monday's search warrant.

"We'll get the reports from the police department and determine what charges to file," Green said.

Under city ordinance, operating an adult-oriented business without a license is punishable by a $200 fine and 30 days in jail for every day a business fails to register. Businesses can sell adult merchandise without a license as long as it does not make up a "substantial or significant portion of its stock."…

During Monday's raid, police officers entered Spencer's about 9 p.m. and did not start loading the boxed merchandise into police vehicles until after midnight.

On multiple occasions, officers brought in more cardboard boxes, and police Lt. Tom Vlieger, who oversaw the search warrant's execution, confirmed there was more merchandise affected than they had anticipated.

The search warrant, which was signed by Magistrate Judge Scott Bogue, allowed officers to seize all merchandise designed for use during sexual activity, books, films or other visual representations of sexual activity or anatomical areas, novelty items depicting genitals or exposed female breasts and packaging of items depicting sexual activity or anatomical areas, according to court documents. 

An inventory of all of the seized merchandise included in the court documents listed more than 2,000 items.

Someone at the Rapid City Police Department is going to get a hell of a retirement party.