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<br /> {rp/S?:J I <br /> . .1 <br /> and under the present circumstances becomes available to minors even <br /> though its sale to minors is prohibited. I <br /> ! - <br /> j Testimony I <br /> j The Working Group heard testimony that a. concentration of sexually oriented I <br /> businesses has serious impacts upon the surrounding neighborhood. The Working <br /> J Group heard that pornographic materials are left in adjacent lots. One person reported I <br /> to the police that he had found 50 pieces of pornographic material in a church parking <br /> lot near a sexually oriented business. Neighbors report finding used condoms on their I <br /> . lawns and sidewalks and that sex acts with prostitutes occur on streets and alleys in <br /> plain view of families and children. The Working Group heard testimony that arrest I <br /> . rates understate the level of crime associated with sexually oriented businesses. Many <br /> robberies and thefts from "johns' and many assaults upon prostiMes are never <br /> . reported to the police. I <br /> . Prostitution also results in harassment of neighborhood residents. Young girls on -. <br /> their way to school or young women Gln their way to work are often propositioned by <br /> johns. The Flick theater caters to homosexual trade, and male prostitution has been I <br /> ~ noted in the area. Neighborhood boys and men are also accosted on the street. A <br /> police officer testified that one resident had informed him that he found used condoms <br /> ~ in his yard all the time. Both his teenage son and daughter had been solicited on their I <br /> way to school and to work. <br /> I The Working Group heard testimony that in the Frogtown neighborhood, I <br /> IJ immediately north of the University-Dale intersection In St. Paul, there has been a I <br /> change over time in the quality of life since the sexually oriented businesses moved into <br /> the area. The Working Group heard that the neighborhood used to be primarily middle I <br /> . class, did not have a high crime rate and did not have prostitution. St. Paul police <br /> officers testified that they believed the sexually oriented businesses caused <br /> . neighborhood problems, particularly the Increase in prostitution and other crime rates. I <br /> Property values were suffering, since the presence of high crime rates made the area <br /> II I <br /> . -12- -. <br /> . I <br /> ------------ <br />