Couple Accused of Running Sex Club Sues Over TV News Reports

A Porter Ranch couple who allegedly ran a group sex club sued KCBS-TV, the station’s parent network and five Channel 2 reporters Tuesday for slander, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress for broadcasts about them and their home.

The suit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court by lawyers for Robert and Sharon Dow, who police say operated a $50-per-couple sex club in their home in the 18900 block of Kilfinan Street near Sesnon Boulevard.

A 1986 city zoning ordinance makes it a criminal misdemeanor to operate a sexually oriented business within 500 feet of a residence. The city’s prosecution of the club, which was shut down in May, 1991, is pending, according to Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the city attorney’s office.

KCBS News Director John Lippman said he had no comment on the suit, which does not ask for a specific amount of damages. He referred calls to Sandra Williams, an attorney for the CBS network, who also said she had not read the entire lawsuit.

Nevertheless, she said, “we are confident we will prevail in this and that the claims made in the lawsuit are without merit. We stand behind the accuracy of our broadcast.”

The Dows and their attorneys could not be reached for comment. CBS officials and Williams said they did not want to characterize the broadcasts in question and refused to say when they aired.

According to police, the Dows are suspected of running a sex club in which different rooms had different themes for those interested in wife- and husband-swapping and group sex.

After an undercover investigation, police raided the house in May, 1991 and said they found 30 people attending a sex party. During the earlier investigation, officers had seen as many as 70 people at a time, ranging in age from 30 to 65.

Police said they became interested in the parties because the Dows were charging admission. “They’re the ones who upgraded their parties into a retail business,” one police officer said after the raid.