Prince George's Co. residents demanding action from county on adult entertainment clubs

We have a follow up to a FOX 5 investigation about two Prince George's County businesses operating as banquet halls during the day and illegal nightclubs after dark. And in some cases, they even potentially harbor sex traffickers.

Neighbors are upset and they have been demanding action for years now. On Monday, the county council met and would not directly answer questions about the establishments we called into question during our investigation -- among them are Irving's in Capitol Heights and Club Fuego in Hyattsville.

The council is currently in litigation with the respective owners of the owners of these establishments and can't comment as to where things stand.

But during the meeting, it was clear Prince George's County is facing an uphill battle when it comes to licensing and zoning.

These locales that claim to function as one thing, many alleging to be banquet halls, when in reality they operate as adult entertainment clubs.

Here in the county, it wasn't until 2010 that adult entertainment was actually defined and specified for licensing purposes. Many of these establishments have been around before then and have used this to their advantage as a loophole to continue to operate without suffering legal consequences.

Neighbors here say the county has dragged their feet on the issue while the county says as things stand now, their hands are tied.

A lawyer representing one of the clubs in question was asked by the council's vice chair if this was in fact an adult entertainment facility. He responded it is actually an auditorium which also happens to be a place where they offer "adult entertainment."

From that exchange, it seems like many clubs in the county continue to benefit from loopholes that exist.

Now the county has pushed the matter to the federal level, and depending on that decision, they will determine how to proceed.