Strippers sue to keep personal files away from man in jail
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TACOMA, Wash. -- How much is too much information?
A Tacoma man is asking for a pile of personal information on adult dancers throughout Pierce County.
Despite his criminal past, Robert Hill claims he is legally entitled to know what the dancers look like and potentially where they live.
In an exclusive interview inside a holding cell, Hill revealed why he wants this information so badly.
"Anything that combines sex, money and politics --- I'm on it," Hill said.
Hill said he wants to help adult dancers in Pierce County become big stars with social media.
"They can absorb it, they could ignore, they could act on it. Until they hear it, they're not able to benefit from me," he said.
Already in jail for assault at a bar, Hill has been convicted of intimidating a judge and was arrested for stalking in Seattle in 2010.
The case was overturned and a new trial is set to start this summer. In court documents Hill is called "aggressive," "violent" and having displayed "stalking behavior."
But now he wants a full list of adult dancer licensing forms from the county, including identifying details of their bodies, their personal information and photos.
He said it would not only help his social media consulting business, but the dancers and their employers as well.
"They could have per-club pages versus just focusing on the dancer," he said.
Hill has already seen around 100 of the files, but he wants more. He is requesting the documents because they are regulated public records. The dancers are going to court to stop him.
"The very fact that you know somebody has requested this information if terrifying in and of itself," said David Ward, a women's rights attorney.
He said a loss of privacy --- even through public records --- has a chilling effect, and said it could lead to stalking or worse.
"There's no way to know when it's going to happen and there's no way to know when it's stopped," Ward said.
In the meantime, Hill said he'll continue to test the limit of the law. The attorney for the dancer who brought the initial suit had no comment. Hill is representing himself in court.
A Tacoma man is asking for a pile of personal information on adult dancers throughout Pierce County.
Despite his criminal past, Robert Hill claims he is legally entitled to know what the dancers look like and potentially where they live.
In an exclusive interview inside a holding cell, Hill revealed why he wants this information so badly.
"Anything that combines sex, money and politics --- I'm on it," Hill said.
Hill said he wants to help adult dancers in Pierce County become big stars with social media.
"They can absorb it, they could ignore, they could act on it. Until they hear it, they're not able to benefit from me," he said.
Already in jail for assault at a bar, Hill has been convicted of intimidating a judge and was arrested for stalking in Seattle in 2010.
The case was overturned and a new trial is set to start this summer. In court documents Hill is called "aggressive," "violent" and having displayed "stalking behavior."
But now he wants a full list of adult dancer licensing forms from the county, including identifying details of their bodies, their personal information and photos.
He said it would not only help his social media consulting business, but the dancers and their employers as well.
"They could have per-club pages versus just focusing on the dancer," he said.
Hill has already seen around 100 of the files, but he wants more. He is requesting the documents because they are regulated public records. The dancers are going to court to stop him.
"The very fact that you know somebody has requested this information if terrifying in and of itself," said David Ward, a women's rights attorney.
He said a loss of privacy --- even through public records --- has a chilling effect, and said it could lead to stalking or worse.
"There's no way to know when it's going to happen and there's no way to know when it's stopped," Ward said.
In the meantime, Hill said he'll continue to test the limit of the law. The attorney for the dancer who brought the initial suit had no comment. Hill is representing himself in court.
"sex, money and politics"  "aggressive violent stalking behaviour"  Sounds like this loony is planning a pimping career when our limp legged judicial system sets him free. Â
I don't understand why he feels it is the governments job to help him with his business? If he is legit then he should do the footwork himself,but he's not,he is a stalker,he clearly has other motives.
Well, of course 'the public has a right to know' the names, addresses and locations of any man or woman who takes their clothes off for money in a public place.  At least in Washington. In Oregon, the Supreme Court has ruled that taking your clothes off in a public bar for money is 1st Amendment Freedon of Speech. I would really like to ask the sponsor of the licensing requirement in Washington as to what that requirement was supposed to accomplish besides revenue.
Does anyone see the mass murder look on this guys face..kinda the way a pit bull looks at a bloody porkchop. Why wait until he does something to someone. Kill'em now
The logic of this man's business plan has a major flaw - no one is agreeing to giving him information - he has to seek it in ways that are disturbing.
If he is wanting to setup a legit online business focused on exotic dancers - talk to the dancers - show them the business plan and ask if they want to participate
That is how a legit business plan goes - IMO this man is on a much darker journey that has nothing to do with a business plan. And doing this while sitting in jail? WTF I thought rights were limited while incarcerated.
Is this a story that leads into some horrific incident 8 months from now - or a year? probably.
"He is requesting the documents because they are regulated public records." This is the result of the government regulating everything (such as dancing!). We saw it also in the map of gun owners published by a New York paper. The government, in its quest to regulate (behavior) and collect license fees for just about everything, collects personal information, which is then deemed "public" information simply because it's in the possession of the government. I think all information in the government's possession SHOULD be public information, with a few exceptions for safety and security. Instead of trying to define what information is public and what is private, a hopeless task (and the information can be stolen or hacked anyway), the government has to cut back on the regulation..
A fool with a stalking past requesting the specs on a group of women? Â Shouldn't "History of Stalking" be enough to deny that kind of public records request??
And now the shoe is on the other foot. Â I seem to recall the outrage that concealed weapons permit holders data should be made public (when it shouldn't) and for good reason.Â
 @Jason Marks Indeed, this is what happens when those people out there fail to see what the results are of their small minded points of view: You canât have it both ways, either the information is available and all should be able to get it, or not. You have given those against stricter gun controls the ability to have personal information and now, you have to play fair and give this same information to someone like this, who could do whatever with it, just as some will most likely do with the gun owner information. THIS is the can of worms you, anti-gun people have opened. Enjoy the results, as this type of request will be repeated again and again, with very possibly horrible results.
So if I'm understanding Washington laws, a person has to have a license to take their clothes off in a private business open to the public? Where do they carry this license if their clothes are who knows where? At some point people have to go WTF?