A judge ordered Jeffery Wallace to stand trial on a charge of sexual exploitation of a child.
Two former dancers at a Douglas County strip club, one who is 20 years old and one who started dancing when she was 15, testified Thursday that the club's owner didn't ask for proof of their ages when they were hired.
Jeffery Wallace, 31, owner of The Outhouse, is charged with sexual exploitation of a child for allowing the teen to dance at his rural Lawrence club.
The girl, who turned 16 less than two weeks after she started working at The Outhouse in January, said in court Thursday she lied when Wallace, 31, hired her.
The girl held a job from Jan. 6 to at least Feb. 14 at The Outhouse, but she said she couldn't remember the exact day she quit. The Outhouse is east of Lawrence, at 1837 N. 1500 Road.
"I told him I was 17, turning 18, but I was really 15," said the girl, testifying at Wallace's preliminary hearing.
District Court Judge Paula Martin ordered Wallace to stand trial on the charge following the hearing, at which the two former Outhouse dancers and Douglas County Sheriff's Det. Doug Woods took the stand.
According to state statutes, it's illegal to employ a child under the age of 18 to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Until July 1998, the law applied to children under the age of 16, but legislators raised the age to 18. Woods said Wallace told him in an interview that he thought the age limit was 17.
Wallace's attorney, William Rork, said the law was aimed at child pornography, and not adult establishments like The Outhouse. Martin disagreed, and scheduled a hearing for motions in the trial at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 14.
The girl, of Kansas City, Mo., said a friend introduced her to Wallace.
"A friend was working there and she told me about it," she said. "I wanted to work there, too."
Wallace, arrested on the charge June 8, didn't testify Thursday. After a previous court appearance, he told the Journal-World he didn't know the girl was 15 when she started dancing at the club, and that she showed him a driver's license that showed she was 18.
The girl denied repeated questions by Rork about the false identification, and started to cry when he pressed the point.
"I want to give her the chance, to remind her she's under oath," Rork said.
Martin ordered a half-hour recess, and the girl took the stand again. She denied showing Wallace false identification.
Wallace is free on $12,500 bond.
-- Chris Koger's phone message number is 832-7126. His e-mail address is ckoger@ljworld.com.
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