Gym Owner Convicted of Interference of Privacy for Keeping a Camera in a Changing Room

(KNSI) – A Wright County jury has convicted a Snap Fitness owner of gross misdemeanor interference of privacy after he was accused of installing a camera in a tanning booth changing area.

According to the criminal complaint, police went to Snap Fitness Annandale location in January 2019 after a woman said she found a pinhole camera in her changing room. Police say they found a wireless camera on top of the booth and an iPad on the desk of the 45-year-old owner Randall Roiger which allegedly served as the monitor for the camera.

Roiger told investigators that he installed the camera because he wanted to be sure only paying customers were using the tanning booth. He said he stopped watching once that was confirmed or once people started undressing. He also claimed the iPad showed a feed but was not recording.

The woman who discovered the camera also filed a civil suit against Roiger and Snap Fitness in January of 2021, claiming Roiger repeatedly watched her undress without her knowledge. She says she now suffers physical and emotional trauma from a loss of dignity, a fear of public bathrooms, embarrassment, and paranoia. She is seeking $50,000 in damages. That case is set to be heard next March.

Sentencing in the criminal case is set for August 6th.

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