COLUMBUS – Misdemeanor charges against adult film actress Stormy Daniels have been dropped, hours after her arrest at a Northeast Side strip club.
My office has reviewed the charges filed by the Columbus Division of Police, and I’ve determined that these crimes were not committed, based on the fact that Ms. Clifford has not made regular appearances at this establishment as required under the law. (1/2)
— Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein (@CityAttyKlein) July 12, 2018
The 39-year-old adult film star, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, was arrested at Club Sirens on Cleveland Avenue early Thursday and charged with three misdemeanors, each punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. She was released on $6,000 bail around daybreak Thursday.
By early afternoon, prosecutors said they were dropping the case because Ohio’s law against physical contact between strippers and customers applies only to someone who “regularly” performs at a club. In Daniels’ case, it was her first appearance at the club.
“My office has reviewed the charges filed by the Columbus Division of Police, and I’ve determined that these crimes were not committed, based on the fact that Ms. Clifford has not made regular appearances at this establishment as required under the law. We’ll do the same inquiry for the other defendants involved, as well. My office was not involved in this sting operation, so any additional questions about it must be directed to the Columbus Division of Police. The charges have been dismissed.” -Statement from Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein.
Columbus Division of Police Chief Kim Jacobs said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon that the officers who made the arrest made a mistake.
“Personnel working last night
believed they had probable cause that state law regulating sexually-oriented businesses was violated; however, one element of the law was missed in error,” she said.
Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti, tweeted afterward Daniels was “traumatized and rattled” but also that she “refuses to be intimidated” and would “return to the scene of the ‘no crime'” and perform again Thursday night in Columbus, though the venue was still in doubt.
Daniels was arrested after she allegedly touched three different Vice Unit detectives, Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Dean Worthington said. He says two other women were charged with one count of the same violation.
Ohio’s 10-year-old Community Defense Act prohibits anyone who isn’t a family member to touch a nude or semi-nude dancer.
Avenatti said Daniels was “set up” in a police sting operation, calling it an “absurd use of law enforcement resources.”
Worthington says police routinely conduct such undercover operations and Jacobs said that, while claims like Avenatti’s were unfounded, “the motivations behind the officers’ actions will be reviewed internally to ensure that our Core Values and duty to serve our community to the best of our ability continue to be the basis for our actions.”
Daniels has said she had sex with President Donald Trump in 2006, when he was married, which Trump has denied.