Fire badly damaged several buildings Friday near the courthouse square in Greencastle, with flames shooting through the roofs as firefighters from several communities were called in to the central Indiana city to help.INDIANAPOLIS – A group that helps victims of sexual assault wants Indiana legislators to enact a $5 tax for strip club customers.
Erik Scheub of the Indiana Coalition Against Sexual Assault tells WRTV-TV that two-thirds of the state’s 92 counties offer inadequate services for survivors of sex crimes. The only state funding amounts to about $25,000 a year.
Julian Center executive director Melissa Pershing says Indiana’s rape crisis centers are “woefully underfunded.”
Scheub says a $5 tax charged patrons at the doors of Texas strip clubs generates more $10 million a year. Utah and Illinois also have recently enacted taxes or surcharges to fund programs for victims.
Proponents of the strip club tax say there’s a strong link between adult entertainment and sexual abuse.
