Wichita ? A Sedgwick County District Court grand jury is investigating whether seven Wichita businesses that sell sex-related items are violating obscenity laws.

The grand jury was called after a group called Operation SouthWind collected thousands of signatures from people who think the stores sell obscene magazines, videos and gadgets.

If the grand jury returns an indictment, the case would become an active criminal case and be set for jury trial, said Georgia Cole, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office.

Jan Beemer, president of Operation SouthWind, said the group had collected signatures regarding nine other shops in the city and planned to file complaints with the police department. She said the group started with the seven shops it thought were in the worst locations.

Wichita lawyer Charlie O’Hara, who represents some of the stores, said that obscenity cases generally involve specific books or movies. He said it seems in this case that Operation SouthWind just wants to shut down businesses.

“This seems to be a witch hunt,” O’Hara said.

Sheriff Gary Steed has said that it’s difficult to determine what is obscene and what isn’t.

But Beemer said Monday she was sure the shops sold illegal items.

“The videos are probably the strongest hard-core items in the stores,” she said. “And the magazines, too.”

A grand jury petition requires 2,500 signatures. Beemer said her group collected about 7,500 signatures and the court accepted about 6,500 of those.

State law says any material or performance is obscene if:

¢ The average person applying contemporary community standards would find that the material or performance, taken as a whole, appeals to prurient interest.

¢ The average person applying contemporary community standards would find that the material or performance has patently offensive representations or descriptions of intercourse or other sex acts.

¢ A reasonable person would find that the material or performance lacks serious literary, educational, artistic, political or scientific value.