3 Bathhouses Ordered Shut Over Sex Violations

In their first enforcement of stringent regulations restricting sexual activity at gay bathhouses, Los Angeles County health officials ordered three clubs to close Monday.

Undercover investigators observed “restricted activity a number of times” at the three clubs, county officials said, and the bathhouses also violated guidelines governing the use of private rooms.

One bathhouse owner, however, said he will defy the order and open today.

“I don’t plan to close,” said Scott D.R. Goulet, owner of Hollywood Spa, 1650 Ivar Ave.

Already Adjudicated

“We adjudicated this issue two years ago. We won it then. The county was wrong,” he said.

The other bathhouses ordered shut down are Mac’s, 2801 Hyperion Ave., Los Angeles, and Leisure Spa and Turkish Bath, 1284 S. Garey Ave., Pomona.

“If the three bathhouses refuse to comply with our notice to close, county counsel and the district attorney are prepared to take further legal action,” Health Services Director Robert C. Gates said in a memo to county supervisors.

Regulations adopted by the supervisors in January prohibit anal or vaginal intercourse and oral copulation at the bathhouses. They also limit private rooms to use by one person at a time. County officials contend that the regulations are necessary to combat acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

Investigators said they observed intercourse at the clubs and the bathhouses maintained “several private rooms capable of being locked from the inside, with no windows or other openings” to monitor activity inside.

“Whether (the bathhouses) are shut down is a question for a court to decide--not Mr. Gates,” said Barrett S. Litt, attorney for Hollywood Spa and five of the other 11 bathhouses in the county. “I’ve advised my clients that the regulations are invalid in the way (county health officials) are trying to enforce them.”

Two years ago, Litt said, Superior Court Judge John L. Cole ruled that restricted activity should apply to anal intercourse without a condom. The new regulations prevent intercourse even with a condom.

He added that the judge refused to place any restrictions on the use of private rooms.

“This is not public health,” Litt said. “It’s politics. Gay bathhouses are easy targets for making political hay and getting the public worked up over issues that aren’t really issues.”