Owners of Brea Lingerie Shop Agree to Vacate

The owners of a controversial Brea lingerie shop surrendered their business license and paid $1,000 in court costs Monday rather than face 288 criminal misdemeanor charges alleging that they operated an illegal peep show featuring scantily clad models.

The attorney for Hassan Halabi and Nabil Abouriche struck a compromise with Brea Deputy City Prosecutor Gregory P. Palmer in North County Municipal Court whereby the city will drop the charges if the two operators vacate their Birch Street shop by 4:45 p.m. today.

In a sign that they intend to keep their end of the deal, Halabi and Abouriche turned over their business license, seller’s permit and certificate of occupancy for Queen Lingerie to Palmer, he said. They also paid cash to cover court fees and the city’s legal fees, Palmer said.

Halabi and Abouriche were not available for comment Monday.

Their attorney, Laurence A. Young, said: “For a payment of $1,000, all the charges are being dismissed essentially. They would have to pay much more in attorney’s fees if they went to court. It just became economically unrealistic to fight the thing.”

The owners contended that they ran a legitimate business and that Brea officials did not want them to do business in the city.

Monday’s action may signal the end of a long-running battle between the shop, which featured lingerie-clad models in fantasy theme rooms, and the city. Residents near the shop complained that it was a peep show that attracted unsavory people to their upscale neighborhood.

In February, city officials slapped the owners with a misdemeanor criminal complaint.

In March, city officials thought that an out-of-court agreement calling for Halabi and Abouriche to vacate the shop by April 15 spelled the end of the business. But city inspectors said the shop was still open past the deadline, and the owners were ordered to stand trial on Monday.

If the shop is not vacated by today’s deadline, Palmer threatened, he will return to court Wednesday to pursue the misdemeanor charges alleging that the pair operated an adult modeling studio, a public dance hall and a place of public entertainment without the proper permits.