A Franklin club tied to a years-long prostitution and sex-trafficking investigation is losing its license.
After nearly six hours of testimony Thursday, the Franklin Common Council voted 3-2 to revoke the liquor and entertainment licenses of On the Border Gentlemen’s Club amid a sex-trafficking investigation.
Following the vote, Franklin Police Sgt. Mark Goers, who spent years working the investigation, reflected on the decision.
“It feels good. This whole investigation, you know, I was working for other people, victims this whole time and trying to bring them justice the best as I can so I feel this is the first step in a longer proceeding that’s to come,” Goers said.
Multiple officers with the Franklin Police Department who have been involved in the investigation testified, sharing their experience interviewing victims, customers and employees at the club over the past several years. Goers testified that the club puts a burden on the department’s resources.
“My majority of my workload was investigating On the Border and human trafficking and human traffickers that were operating out of On the Border so therefore financially there was a big burden and the city went without a detective for some time and as well as currently going without a patrol officer,” Goers said.
Officers were also cross-examined by defense attorney Michael Levine, who represents the company that owns On the Border called HB & H Holdings LLC. Levine said his client denies the allegation that prostitution happened at the club.
“What facts have been presented? We have heard testimony based on multiple levels of hearsay we have not heard directly from any of those directly involved in these matters,” Levine said.
More than 50 pages of criminal complaints and supporting documents detail allegations of women being mistreated, transported and abused for profit.
According to one of those complaints, the club’s general manager, Brian Hopkins, admitted to investigators that prostitution occurred at the club and that he accepted thousands of dollars from traffickers to keep dancers employed.
Three other men tied to the club face multiple charges including human trafficking, domestic abuse and victim intimidation.
The investigation began more than five years ago and involves multiple law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and IRS.
TMJ4 News has been covering the investigation for months, reporting on nearly every Franklin Common Council meeting related to the case, reviewing criminal complaints and supporting documents, and interviewing residents, advocacy groups and city leaders.
Watch: Franklin club tied to sex-trafficking investigation could lose its liquor and entertainment license
Franklin club tied to sex-trafficking investigation could lose its liquor and entertainment license
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