SEX ROBOT BATTLE: Mayor Turner considering regulating robot brothel slated for Houston
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A sex robot brothel may find itself fighting City Hall.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner says he wants to make sure the city can regulate the business before it even opens its doors.
The owner of Canadian-based sexbot business "Kinkys Dolls" told Eyewitness News last week he plans to open the first U.S. franchise in the Galleria area on Richmond Avenue.
He did not want to give the exact address without permission of the franchise holders.
At the location in Toronto, customers pay for use of the dolls and a private room. Sessions range from 30 minutes up to two hours.
SEE ALSO: Toronto businessman brings sex robot brothel to the Galleria area
The mayor said right away that he did not want to see this sort of business in Houston.
But there could be trouble stopping it.
Lawyers we spoke with say Texas law would not prevent a robot sex shop from opening. However, Turner wants to make sure local ordinances are up-to-date to give the city some say in how these shops operate, if at all.
"I am not trying to be the moral police officer, but we do need to be very mindful of what comes into our city and what our children and others may be exposed to," Turner said.
The mayor is not the only one concerned about the brothel coming to the Bayou City.
Leaders of the local organization Elijah Rising have been cracking down on human trafficking and worry that this type of "robot brothel" will only set them back.
"Our biggest concern is that this sex brothel with robots is gonna train men to become rapists," Micah Gamboa with Elijah Rising said. "What's next? Is it child robots? Where's the line? Where is the boundary?"
RELATED: Sex robot brothel planned for Houston gets pushback from religious group
According to the brothel's website, each "doll" has a name and a look. The owner says they are designed to appear as adults.
They're available for sale to clients with prices that start at $2,500.
The company also sells artificial intelligence models that programmed to engage in conversations. Those are available only for sale with a price of $10,000.
"What I have said to legal and to my other departments, move quickly to give me some recommendations on how to address that because again, at the very minimum, let me put it in this case, at the very minimum, I don't want to see these type of businesses being next door to our schools, our day cares, our faith based institutions," Turner said.
The owner of the sex robot brothel plans to open the Houston location within a matter of weeks.
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