Store, owner found guilty of obscenity

By Jimmy LaRoue

Published: August 15, 2008

STAUNTON — After Hours Video Store owner Rick Krial and his store were each found guilty of one charge of obscenity today in Staunton Circuit Court.
Krial received a $1,000 fine and the store received a $1,500 fine. Tinsley Embrey, an After Hours employee, was acquitted on two counts of obscenity.
Krial and his attorneys say they plan an appeal. The defense team asked for a motion to set aside the verdict, and not enter a judgment for 60 days.
Krial said, “We are going to place our appeal.”
Defense lawyer Paul Cambria said, “We’ll regroup and we’ll figure out what we are going to do.” Cambria said he would be a part of the appeals process and that he was not sure what would happen with the store for now.
Defense lawyer Louis Sirkin said, “Anytime there is a knock on these things it’s a bite out of the First Amendment.”
Both Cambria and Sirkin said there was little distinction be-tween the two videos viewed by the jury. They said the split verdict was a mixed message.
Stanton Commonwealth’s Attorney Ray Robertson said he believed the jury made a distinction between “one-on-one sex” and “sex with multiple partners.” The video cited in the verdict involved multiple sexual partners.
“They drew the line there. That’s my guess,’’ Robertson said. Robertson said there has never been a store like After Hours Video in Staunton.
“It was wrong for this commu-nity. It was obscene for this com-munity,’’ Robertson said.