The Chicken Suit Solution

From today's Houston Chronicle:

MEN WHO SOLICITED SEX ORDERED TO WEAR CHICKEN SUIT
Judge orders 3 who solicited sex to don outfit, hold anti-brothel sign

PAINESVILLE, OHIO — The Best Little Whorehouse is not in Painesville. And Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti, known for dispensing unusual sentences, doesn't want one sprouting in his small town. So Cicconetti ordered three men charged with soliciting sex to take turns dressing in a bright yellow chicken costume while carrying a sign that reads "No Chicken Ranch in Painesville."
The sign and costume refer to the "World Famous Chicken Ranch," a brothel in Nevada where sex-for-money is legal. The costume was borrowed from a woman who wears it to cheer patients at a local hospice.

Daniel Chapdelaine, 40, of Perry Township (that's him in the picture); Martin Soto, 44, of Ashtabula; and Fabian Rodriguez-Ramirez, 29, of Painesville; all pleaded guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor charges of soliciting sex from an undercover Painesville police officer earlier this summer. Cicconetti agreed to suspend a 30-day jail sentence if they wear the costume between 4 and 7 p.m. today outside Painesville City Court. "We're trying to send a strong message that we won't tolerate this activity in the city," said Painesville probation supervisor David Washlock.

It's not the first time that Cicconetti has used barnyard animals in his sentences.He ordered a man who called a policeman a "pig" to stand next to a live pig in a pen and hold a sign that read, "This Is Not a Police Officer." A couple who stole a baby Jesus statue from a manger were sentenced to dress as Mary and Joseph and walk with a donkey.

Now personally I love this story not only from a feminist point of view but also from a tired-of-the-same-crap citizen's point of view. Instead of a little fine or other normal sentence that probably would have been taken care of quietly and pushed under the rug, a little public humiliation never hurt anyone. It probably did all these guys a lot of good and odds are they'll be feeling the pain for quite a while to come.