
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, September 11, 1994                   TAG: 9409130042
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: E-5   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WOODSTOCK                                LENGTH: Short

ACLU TO DEFEND FAIR'S STRIPPERS

The American Civil Liberties Union will defend the manager and four performers of a strip show against charges they violated indecent exposure laws during the Shenandoah County Fair.

Kent Willis, state ACLU executive director, said the organization's executive committee accepted the recommendation of its legal panel to take on the case Friday.

``The ACLU maintains that the performances, during which the dancers wore pasties and G-strings, are protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution,'' the ACLU of Virginia said in a statement released Saturday.

Former federal prosecutor David P. Baugh of Richmond, a member of the legal panel, will lead the defense team. He will be assisted by another Richmond attorney, Steven D. Benjamin.

Gary W. Housel, manager of the strip show, asked the ACLU for help after he and his performers were charged last week.

Memo: NOTE: Shorter version ran in Metro edition.

by CNB