September 29 Nepean, Ont. Eight men […]

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When

1976-09-29

Description

September 29 Nepean, Ont. Eight men were arrested and charged with gross indecency for having sex in a public washroom at Steinberg's Miracle Mart store (Merivale Road and Meadowlands Drive); police had set up hidden cameras and filmed scenes in the washroom. Five pleaded guilty and were given conditional discharges. Two others were also given conditional discharges, and the eighth man was given a small fine. The police tried to keep the arrests quiet, but there was considerable media attention to the case, most of it measured. GO protested the tactics used by the Nepean police in the arrests, the severity of the charges, and the gross indecency laws themselves.

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Steinberg’s Miracle Mart Nepean

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Gays of Ottawa Gays d'Ottawa GO, Gays of Ottawa Gais de L'Outaouais GO Ottawa Police Service

All Citations

"Silence Kept on Ring," Ottawa Citizen, 18 October 1976, p. 3."Police Film Men's Room Eight Charged," Globe and Mail, metro ed., 19 October 1976, p. 3 "Les Gays dénoncent les arrestations de Népean," Gay Montréal, 1, no. 17 (16 November 1976) : 12 David Garmaise, "Washroom Arrests in Ottawa Suburb," Body Politic, no. 29 (1976–77), pp. 4–5 David Garmaise, "Washroom Arrests," GO Info, 3, no. 5 (October–November 1976) : 1 David Garmaise, "Bath Case Surprise: Charges Dismissed," Body Politic, no. 31 (1977), pp. 5–6

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Steinberg’s Miracle Mart

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