Parents must attend nudist camp, judge says

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal judge ruled Thursday a Virginia nudist colony cannot hold its annual summer camp for teenagers without parental supervision.

In denying a motion from the owner of White Tail Park nudist camp, Judge Richard L. Williams said parents or guardians wouldn’t interfere with the youngsters’ enjoyment at camp.

“They are in no way compromised by having a parent in a camper reading ‘Gone With the Wind’ while their children frolic outside,” Williams said.

Camp owner Robert Roche and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia had sought to block a state law that denies a license to hotels, summer camps or campgrounds that hold nudist camps for children without their parents or guardians. The law went into effect July 1.

The ACLU is challenging the law; a trial date is pending.

Rebecca Glenberg, attorney for the ACLU of Virginia, argued the state cannot, without just cause, interfere with the rights of parents to decide how to raise their children. “It can’t just be abstract fear based on prejudice and ignorance,” she said.

The judge disagreed.

“The law merely imposes a restriction that a parent or a legal guardian be present,” Williams said. “People who care about their children or grandchildren will make the adjustment to their schedules so their kids can go.”

The White Tail Park camp for 11- to 18-year-olds was one of only a few nudist camps in the country where juveniles were allowed to attend without their parents, according to the American Association for Nude Recreation. The others are in Arizona and Florida.

“There’s a big misconception about what it’s all about,” Roche said after Thursday’s hearing. “It’s a beautiful camp that teaches (children) all about themselves and their friends.”

Tim Murtaugh, spokesman for Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore, said such camps could attract pedophiles and child pornographers, and it was in the state’s interest to protect the children who attend.

“In the event of an incident, wouldn’t it be nice to have a legal guardian nearby?” he asked.

White Tail opened in southeastern Virginia in 1984. About 1,200 nudists are there at any one time, including about 30 families who live there all year.