Wicked Fun, a swingers club next to Baptist church in Connecticut, ordered to close
Wicked Fun, a Connecticut swingers club near a Baptist church, has been ordered to close its doors following a heated meeting Tuesday night.
The private club in Terryville, which offers members 'fun, excitement, and maybe even a little mischief,' recently received a cease-and-desist order over alleged zoning violations.
Town officials say the members-only club falls under the adult-use business category and is therefore required to be at least 1,000 feet away from a church.
The club shares both a property line and a parking lot with the Riverside Baptist Church.
The order, issued on March 28, directed the club to shut down within 10 days. However, club owner Steve Gagne appealed the order, saying Wicked Fun should not be classified as an adult-use business.
'We have well-dressed people, professionals who come to our club, and they socialize and have a good time,' Gagne said, according to NBC Connecticut. It's just 'consenting adults having a good time doing nothing, nothing wrong.'
On Tuesday, around 100 people showed up at the Plymouth Town Hall for a Zoning Board of Appeals meeting. Members of the church and supporters of the club took turns speaking in the 'heated' session, which went on for hours, according to the local CBS affiliate WFSB.
Gagne was hoping that a 'strong turnout from supporters who believe in fairness, free expression, and legal transparency' would help members of the board side with the club.
Riverside Baptist Pastor David Townsley told WTNH the club has 'impacted the town negatively,' while parishioners called on the board to reject the challenge.
'I urge you to deny the appeal and send a message that this kind of lawlessness — and that's what it is — will not be tolerated in any Connecticut town,' one person said at the meeting.
Club co-owner Jodi Gagne, Steve Gagne's wife, pushed back on that claim, arguing that the club doesn't feature 'topless dancers, strippers, male or female impersonators, or other entertainers for observation by patrons' and therefore should not be considered an adult-use business.
'At our club, we do not put on a show — there are no dancers, there are no strippers,' she said.
At the end, the board unanimously voted to deny the appeal, and the club was immediately forced to close its doors.
Gagne, however, hasn't given up the fight. He vowed to sue the town and said he plans to keep challenging the decision.
_____
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Baptist college in Georgia places president on leave as it probes whether he ignored sexual abuse
CLEVELAND, Ga. (AP) — A Baptist college in northeast Georgia has placed its president on leave while it investigates whether he ignored claims that a former administrator was abusing students. Trustees at Truett McConnell University in Cleveland announced on Friday that they had placed Emil Caner on leave. They said they hired an investigator to examine claims that a former administrator and professor sexually assaulted a woman who was a student and later a university employee. She claims she was assaulted when she went to the administrator's home for Bible study. Trustees also named John Yarborough, the director of alumni and public policy, as acting president. Southern Baptists have faced allegations that hundreds of church leaders and workers have abused people over the years and that the denominaton hasn't done enough to prevent abuse. The former student made the allegations on a podcast on May 29. Truett McConnell issued a statement May 30, saying that it first became aware of the allegations in February 2024, when the administrator informed the university he was under investigation by the White County Sheriff's Office 'regarding an inappropriate relationship.' The 3,100-student university says the administrator's employment ended within days and that school leaders later learned that the administrator had sent 'hundreds' of 'sexually-explicit and theologically-twisted' emails from a personal account. Sheriff's deputies concluded there wasn't enough evidence to seek criminal charges, the university said. The sheriff's office didn't immediately respond Monday to a phone call and email seeking comment. A lawyer for the former student contacted the university in February, Truett McConnell said. The student alleged in the podcast that she was repeatedly sexually assaulted at the administrator's home. Marcia Shein, the former student's lawyer, said Monday that the university knew about the claims well before 2024. She said a petition complaining about the administrator's behavior was ignored. The university replied that it 'takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously' and that if a formal complaint had been filed, the administrator 'would have been immediately investigated and ultimately dismissed.' Shein said the student hasn't sued Truett McConnell because she is blocked by Georgia's four-year statue of limitations on civil lawsuits. However, Shein said White County District Attorney Jeff Langley has told Shein's investigator that he is taking a renewed look at the case. Several alumni demonstrated on campus Friday as trustees met, saying the university hasn't done enough. Brianna Derryberry, a 2017 graduate, held a sign saying, 'Your silence says more than your slogan.' 'I truly believe that there has been a lot that has been covered up,' Derryberry told WDUN-AM. 'I've just been praying that the darkness won't be there anymore and that the truth will come out.'
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
GA Christian college president placed on leave amid sexual abuse cover-up allegations
The president of a private Baptist college in northeast Georgia is on administrative leave pending the outcome of a sexual abuse investigation. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On May 30, Truett McConnell University shared in a statement that an unnamed blogger and podcaster published allegations involving Dr. Brad Reynolds. The blogger alleges Reynolds, who's a former TMU administrator and professor, had an inappropriate and immoral relationship with an alumnus who was later hired by the university and was an employee from 2013 until 2018. According to the release, in February 2024, Reynolds notified TMU leadership that the White County Sheriff's Office was investigating him for an inappropriate relationship. At that time, Reynolds was placed on administrative leave, and in a matter of days, he was no longer employed with TMU. In the summer of 2024, university officials said they learned the White County Sheriff's Office investigation was closed. According to a police report, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation found hundreds of graphic emails sent by Reynolds from his personal email account, which Reynolds told investigators was not his. The police report also states that the investigator concluded that he 'does not find that there is enough evidence in the case to seek prosecution at this time,' and the case was closed. In February 2025, TMU says an attorney for the alumnus reached out to the university with excerpts of Reynolds' sexually-explicit and theologically twisted Yahoo emails. 'TMU takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously. Had there been a Title IX or HR complaint filed related to this matter, Reynolds would have been immediately investigated and ultimately dismissed,' TMU said in a release. University officials said, 'outside counsel found no documented evidence of Reynolds' behavior, including reviewing the computers, emails and files of former employees.' While law enforcement decided not to pursue charges, school officials say, 'Dr. Reynolds' behavior was abhorrent, immoral, manipulative and unethical. As was expressed more than once in a Friday afternoon faculty and staff meeting, we are all shocked and disgusted to learn of his secret side.' The blogger also reported that Jonathan Morris, TMU's Title IX coordinator from 2010 through 2020, recently claimed to have been fired as a 'whistleblower.' However, the school officials said Morris was asked to resign after a series of unauthorized personal expenses on his university-issued credit card totaling over $12,000. Officials said on one occasion, Morris charged $7,000 to his TMU credit card shortly after asking for a credit limit increase to pay for freshman orientation expenses. TRENDING STORIES: Driver charged in crash that killed South Fulton police captain appears in court Swimmer seriously injured in boating incident on GA lake Plane crashes into Pacific Ocean near San Diego Last Friday, TMU's Board of Trustees said they met out of 'genuine concern' to address allegations of sexual abuse regarding Hayle Swinson, or any others. The chairman brought three proposals, which were presented to the trustees. The recommendations included: A third-party investigation will be conducted by Richard Hyde with Phoenix Research LLC. President Dr. Emir Caner will be placed on administrative leave until the investigation is completed. Dr. John Yarbrough will serve as Truett McConnell University as acting president until a final determination can be made regarding the trustees' ultimate decision on this matter. The votes were unanimous. 'Truett McConnell University encourages alleged misconduct to be reported as soon as possible. Every TMU employee is trained to bring reports of alleged misconduct to the Title IX or HR office, allowing students to speak with an employee whom they trust,' the release states. 'We request that you continue to pray for the entire TMU family and all parties involved,' school officials said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Truett McConnell University is a private Christian liberal arts and sciences university, offering baccalaureate and master's degrees, operated under the auspices of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board and controlled by a Board of Trustees elected by the Convention. The university is in Cleveland, Ga., which is about 75 miles from Atlanta.
Axios
5 days ago
- Axios
Pride flags stolen from a Baptist church with long history of LGBTQ+ ministry
Among the recent victims of Pride flag theft is one of Salt Lake City's oldest churches — one that's part of a denomination not widely associated with LGBTQ+ outreach. Driving the news: Pride flags were stolen this weekend from outside First Baptist Church, a congregation whose LGBTQ+ ministry dates back decades earlier than many of SLC's other progressive churches. The intrigue: Baptist churches are widely seen as politically and socially conservative. That's in part due to the size and power of the denomination's largest sub-group, the conservative Southern Baptist Convention. Reality check: Baptist churches are exceptionally decentralized among Christian denominations. "Congregational autonomy was a central tenet of Baptist faith" since its founding in the 1600s, First Baptist's the Rev. Curtis Price told Axios. That means individual congregations may vary widely in worship style, orthodoxy and political ideology. Catch up quick: First Baptist has been a Utah standout in LGBTQ+ acceptance at least since the early 1990s, when it hosted the Salt Lake Men's Choir and the first ecumenical World AIDS Day services. The congregation voted for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the early 2000s when various Baptist alliances and affiliations were splitting over the question. The church began performing same-sex weddings years before marriages were legally recognized. When a federal judge threw out Utah's ban on same-sex marriage, Price grabbed his rainbow-colored stole and ran to the county building to officiate. What they're saying:"There were times along the way where the church did have to kind of make some choices. And every time they chose inclusion," Price said. The latest: Pride flags are stolen from the church grounds almost every year, Curtis said.
