XXX plate removal

More than 9,000 North Carolina license plates have been recalled because they begin with "XXX" — a common symbol for sexually explicit material.

Marge Howell, communications officer for the Department of Motor Vehicles, said DMV Commissioner William C. Gore Jr. made the call Thursday morning after receiving complaints from people who found the letters offensive.

"I don't think anybody really looked at this as a problem," Howell said. "It was just next in the alphabetic stream of things."

At least 1,015 of the plates were distributed before the recall went into effect, but Howell said gathering the remaining stockpile should be easy. They are only available at two bureaus — Greenville's 10th Street location and the branch in Roanoke Rapids.

"Only a few were turned in ... just six that I know of, and I don't know the reasons for those," Howell said. "The commissioner decided this was just something that we didn't need out there."

She added that DMV license plate bureaus will replace any plate considered offensive free of charge.

A Winterville man returned his plate Thursday afternoon, after realizing in the parking lot that he was holding the suggestive prefix.

"I definitely don't want XXX on there," Blake Coghill said. "I'm a youth pastor."

He re-entered the office to complain and emerged 10 minutes later, raising a new plate beginning "XTM" triumphantly above his head.

"They didn't know if they'd be able to replace it today," he explained, smiling, "But they had some back there ... I don't want to be the brunt of somebody's joke."

Story is by Kathryn Kennedy/The Daily Reflector and photo is by Greg Eans/The Daily Reflector.