Abilene ? An obscenity case brought against an adult novelty and video store has been dismissed for technical reasons.

The Lion’s Den Adult Superstore has been the focus of controversy since it opened in September 2003 in a former Stuckey’s restaurant three miles northwest of Abilene.

Members of the group Citizens for Strengthening Community Virtues, which formed shortly after the store opened, collected signatures and presented a petition asking for a grand jury to bring criminal indictments against The Lion’s Den.

And in April, a Dickinson County grand jury returned a 29-count indictment alleging that the store promoted obscenity. All the misdemeanor counts are related to devices that are sold at the Lions Den. Under state law, promoting obscenity includes knowingly or recklessly selling sexually oriented goods.

But in a decision filed Tuesday in Dickinson County District Court, Kansas Senior Judge Robert Innes of Wichita ruled that the petition was improperly filled out because organizers added information about where those who signed the petition voted if they didn’t include it.

Innes was assigned to hear the case after Abilene judges recused themselves.