Docuseries on 2005 Mineola swingers club sex scandal debuts on HBO Max

MINEOLA – A three-part docuseries released on HBO Max on Tuesday is taking a look at a swingers club sex scandal that made headlines in Mineola in 2005. According to our news partner KETK, the documentary details the accusations, following trials and the aftermath the case left on the East Texas community. Six people were sentenced to life in prison after the children, who were under 7-years-old at the time, and others told a jury that they were made to attend a “kindergarten” where they learned to dance provocatively and were forced to perform at an alleged swingers club. Two of the men convicted in the scandal had their convictions overturned by a Texas appeals court, and the accusations became highly scrutinized over the years due to a lack of evidence beyond the children’s testimonies of what happened.

During the appeals process, then Wood County District Attorney James Wheeler filed a brief that alleged the Smith County District Attorney’s Office lied, suppressed and/or withheld evidence in the case. This includes information that a Wood County grand jury did not indict the defendants due to lack of evidence before Smith County charges were filed. All three episodes of the docuseries “How to Create a Sex Scandal” were released on Tuesday including footage from KETK’s coverage of the case.