Our Police State - Wife runs massage business, husband who had nothing to do with business going to jail for up to 10 years after supporters raised $500,000 to defend him but has now lost and been sentenced.

Dragon (a.k.a. Brian Mangan), of Santa Barbara, was arrested in September, 1998 and charged with pimping. The arrest occurred when Anna's Touch, a strip-tease/massage studio operated by Dragon's wife Zea, was broken into by five assailants who robbed and bludgeoned a woman. The assailants have never been found.

When police responded, after there was no longer any emergency they searched home, without a search warrant. Police at the time had no idea of any sexwork going on, home was just where unknown persons had broken in and assaulted a women. With no legitimate reason, police seized , money, and clothing from the studio and the couple's home. With the evidence, they charged Dragon and Zea with pandering and running a house of ill fame. Wife, Zea went into hiding and has never been found. Women who worked at the studio have testified that Dragon was not part of the business, yet he faces three to 10 years in prison.

On Jan. 26, 2000, a jury found Dragon guilty on all counts, he faces up to 10 years in jail. The D.A. wanted him to serve 15 years.

In May, 2001 he lost his appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals - these are the judges that Bush will appoint when there are vacancies and many vacancies exist since most of Clintons nominees were blocked by the Republicans.

Why did the District Attorney in Santa Barbara target Dragon for this invasive, powerful, and terrifying persecution? He was a well-known celebrity for his alternative lifestyle and looks. He was high profile in local parades and local positive newspaper articles. When the authorities got in and turned over every nook and cranny of his life, they were INCENSED and outraged by the evidence of his Pagan, Poly, Bi, BD/SM, Wiccan, Primitive, Sexually free, Artist's lifestyle. From that moment on, they have focused on finding anything they could use to nail him with, and they found it in his wife s massage business. The D.A. s office was COMMITTED to seeing to it that Dragon have to serve 15 years in prison

Dragon was lured back to Santa Barbara, to turn himself in by declarations that the D.A. was only considering charging him with having a house of ill repute , a 30 day in jail misdemeanor at best. Once they had Dragon, and realized they weren't going to have Zea (his wife) to charge, try, and convict, they just went hog wild with anything and everything they could drum up against Dragon. He was thrown in jail awaiting trial on $100,000.00 bail. Can you imagine sweet, gentle Dragon in jail? It was absurd and cruel. No one is held on $100,000.00 bail for these charges, even murderers often aren't held on bail that high. It was just grandstanding for the media, justified by inflammatory rhetoric about the mayhem of pagan rituals and such.

Source: Very condensed highlights of "Free the Dragon" Newsletter. Latest update is at http://www.sexwork.com/subcontents/freethedragon.html with extensive legal discussion related to the search and many more details.

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