Anti-brothel flyer backfires

Critics of the "No Brothels in Lyon County Association" mailing said they were disgusted with the contents and dismayed the flyers were sent as unsolicited mail.

Terry Hall said his 10-year-old daughter picks up the mail and often opens it, but when the flyer arrived "she was too busy playing with her friend and she handed the mail to my wife."

"I don't appreciate them sending me this stuff," he said, adding that he's considering legal action against the group.

"It's a bunch of fanatics on the verge of being radical, and I don't appreciate their tactics," he added.

The flyer included the phone number for the Lyon County commissioners and county manager's office, urging readers to call.

The county office got about 50 calls, said clerk Maureen Willis, adding, "Nobody was concerned with the brothels, but they were concerned with the pornography in the pamphlet. They were all greatly offended by the material."

The letter criticized area brothels and prostitutes for advertising on the Internet and for creating a public health threat. Included were photographs used in the ads.

The Postal Service has forwarded a copy of the mailing to the U.S. attorney general's office, postal inspector Steffey Lott said Thursday.

The group isn't required to include a return address but should have included a warning on the envelope about "sexually orientated material," Lott added.

Next to nothing is known about the organization. It isn't registered with the secretary of state's office or Lyon County's business licensing office.

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