Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1617 – Grounds for refusal to issue a license; suspension; revocation
(a) The Commission shall refuse to issue a license to any applicant, and shall revoke any license for the operation of an adult entertainment establishment or adult-oriented retail establishment, for any of the following reasons:
(1) An intentional misrepresentation or omission of any material fact required to be filed pursuant to this chapter;
(2) A transfer of a license in violation of § 1608(a) or § 1610(a) of this title; or the failure to comply with § 1622 or § 1623 of this title;
(3) A conviction for any of the following offenses, which are deemed to be substantially related to the operation of adult bookstores and adult entertainment establishments: lewdness, tax evasion, obscenity, prostitution, promoting prostitution, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, indecent exposure, incest, rape or sodomy, in this State or any other state or jurisdiction;
(4) A conviction of any director, officer, principal stockholder, manager, procurer, employee or independent contractor of the licensee or of a partner associated with the licensee for any of the following offenses, including conspiracy to commit any of the following offenses, which are deemed substantially related to the operation of adult bookstores and adult entertainment establishments: lewdness, tax evasion, obscenity, prostitution, promoting prostitution, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, indecent exposure, incest, rape or sodomy, in this State or any other state or jurisdiction, occurring on the licensed premises; or
(5) A conviction of any director, officer, principal stockholder, manager, procurer, employee or independent contractor of the licensee, or of a partner associated with the licensee, for any of the following offenses, including conspiracy to commit any of the following offenses, which are deemed substantially related to the operation of adult bookstores and adult entertainment establishments: lewdness, tax evasion, obscenity, prostitution, promoting prostitution, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, indecent exposure, incest, rape or sodomy, in this State or any other jurisdiction, not occurring on licensed premises, where said director, officer, principal stockholder, manager, procurer, employee or independent contractor, at the time of the conduct constituting the offense, was off the premises at the request or direction or pursuant to the authority of the licensee for the purpose of furthering the business of the licensee.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1617
- Adult: shall mean a person who has attained the age of 18. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- Adult entertainment establishment: shall mean any commercial establishment, business or service, or portion thereof, which offers sexually-oriented material, devices, paraphernalia or specific sexual activities, services, performances or any combination thereof, or in any other form, whether printed, filmed, recorded or live. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- Adult-oriented retail establishment: shall mean any commercial establishment, business or service, or portion thereof, which offers as a substantial portion of their business sexually-oriented material, devices, or paraphernalia, but does not allow on-site displays of sexually-oriented materials or sexual activities. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- Applicant: shall mean the person in whose name or on whose behalf a license under this chapter is requested. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- Commission: shall mean the Commission on Adult Entertainment Establishments. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Conviction: means a verdict of guilty by the trier of fact, whether judge or jury, or a plea of guilty or a plea of nolo contendere accepted by the court. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Licensee: shall mean the person to whom and in whose name a license is issued under this chapter. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- Partner: shall include both a general and a limited partner. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- Person: means a human being who has been born and is alive, and, where appropriate, a public or private corporation, an unincorporated association, a government or a governmental instrumentality. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- Principal stockholder: shall mean a person who owns equity securities of the licensee, whether voting or nonvoting, preferred or common, in any amount equal to or greater than 10 percent of the total amount of equity securities of the licensee issued and outstanding. See Delaware Code Title 24 Sec. 1602
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) The person or persons responsible for any intentional misrepresentation or omission of any material fact required to be filed pursuant to this chapter shall be fined $1,000, imprisoned for 30 days, or both. For the purpose of this subsection, a fact is deemed “material” when it could have affected the decision as to whether to grant or deny an application for license.
(c) The license for the operation of an adult entertainment establishment or adult-oriented retail establishment may be suspended by the Commission, for a period not to exceed 6 months, for any violation of this chapter not otherwise punishable by subsection (a) of this section, or § 1616 of this title.
(d) A waiver shall be granted, after application in a form prescribed by the Commission, of paragraphs (a)(3) through (a)(5) of this section if, after consideration of the factors set forth in § 8735(x)(3) of Title 29, the Commission determines that granting a waiver would not create an unreasonable risk to public safety.
61 Del. Laws, c. 122, § ?1; 62 Del. Laws, c. 413, § ?19; 63 Del. Laws, c. 285, §§ ?1, 2; 68 Del. Laws, c. 133, §§ ?3, 4; 68 Del. Laws, c. 158, §§ ?1, 2; 72 Del. Laws, c. 452, § ?2; 77 Del. Laws, c. 168, § ?14; 83 Del. Laws, c. 433, § 10;