Six women who were charged by detectives Steven Rosser and Whitney Lancaster have filed a lawsuit seeking monetary damages.

Six women who worked as dancers at a strip club and were charged by two Columbus vice detectives who have since been suspended have filed a federal lawsuit against the officers.

All six of the women worked at Kahoots Gentlemen's Club, at 4522 Kenny Road on the Northwest Side, in 2017 or 2018 and were arrested by either detective Whitney Lancaster or detective Steven Rosser, both of whom worked for the Police Division's now-disbanded vice unit.

According to the lawsuit, filed April 16 in U.S. District Court in Columbus by attorney David Goldstein, the women and Kahoots were targeted by Lancaster and Rosser as retaliation for the firing of a bouncer who allegedly worked as an informant for Rosser.

"Defendant Rosser claimed (the bouncer) was part of a 'Liaison Program' to ensure Kahoots was in compliance with community standards," the lawsuit said.

The bouncer was rehired in December 2017, according to the lawsuit. Five of the six women were charged prior to the bouncer being rehired.

A Dispatch investigation found that every complaint filed by Columbus vice detectives between September 2017 and July 2018 was filed against Kahoots.

Each of the six women say in the lawsuit that they were charged with a portion of Ohio law that prohibits dancers from touching patrons while performing nude or semi-nude.

That same law came under scrutiny after vice officers, including Rosser and Lancaster, arrested adult film actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, in July 2018 at Sirens Gentlemen's Club on Cleveland Avenue.

Following Clifford's high-profile arrest and the dismissal of charges against her soon afterward, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said his office would no longer prosecute charges using that section of Ohio law because undercover police officers could not be considered patrons.

An internal police investigation into Clifford's arrest revealed discussions between the city attorney's office and the vice unit about detectives using that section of law.

The lawsuit says Rosser and Lancaster filed the charges against the six women anyway as a way to harass the dancers and Kahoots.

Goldstein said Wednesday that none of the women who filed the lawsuit had ever had a criminal charge. They also had to spend money to hire attorneys and pay legal fees.

"They want to be vindicated and want to make sure that this doesn't happen to other dancers," he said.

Charges were dismissed against all six plaintiffs in the case, according to court records. The dismissals occurred in the months after Clifford's arrest and the subsequent dismissal of charges against her, according to the lawsuit.

The women are seeking monetary damages for malicious prosecution, abuse of process, violation of civil rights and a civil conspiracy to violate their right to be free from retaliation.

Lancaster and Rosser were suspended as a result of an ongoing investigation into the vice unit by the FBI's Public Corruption Task Force.

Rosser, an 18-year Police Division veteran, and Lancaster, a 31-year Division veteran, also are defendants in a lawsuit filed by Clifford. That lawsuit is pending in U.S District Court.

Two women who were arrested with Clifford at Sirens also had their charges dismissed. They settled a federal lawsuit with the city of Columbus for $150,000.

An internal review of Clifford's arrest found no political motivation. Clifford has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and had a pending lawsuit against him at the time of her arrest.

The internal review did find that vice officers involved made an improper arrest.

Goldstein said his clients want to be compensated for the embarrassment and costs they incurred, despite working legally as an adult dancer.

"What they were doing wasn't illegal," Goldstein said.

Columbus police and the Fraternal Order of Police Capital City Lodge No. 9 both declined comment, citing pending litigation.

bbruner@dispatch.com

@bethany_bruner