And whether police can observe members of the public going to the toilet without invading the privacy of the innocent.
The questions also expose the difficulties of allocating police resources (in the case of Liverpool Street, those of the British Transport police) when the 21st-century horrors of terrorism demand so much. Why, in an age of Grindr and internet dating and supposed liberation, are men still meeting for sex in toilets? How can this be policed without damaging the relationship with the LGBT community? Are the laws in this area still fit for purpose – and how can they be applied to serve the public as a whole? What the phone call led to was unexpected: the uncovering of multiple issues that in 2017 many presume are no longer relevant – let alone unresolved – and multiple questions that have never been answered. But Tim is far from alone and, it transpires, his experiences with the police are far from uncommon. We will call him Tim.Ĭlandestine sexual encounters between men in public conveniences sound like a black-and-white scene from the 1950s, not a practice still prevalent 50 years after decriminalisation. Speaking quickly, he said they had stopped him in London’s Liverpool Street station toilets, paraded him through the station, taken his name and address, questioned him, and warned him that if he was found there again he would be arrested and could have to sign the sex offender register. A distressed man in his mid-forties, his voice tight with anxiety, telephoned BuzzFeed News to say the police had just apprehended him for cottaging. The gym “thoroughly investigates” complaints “and did exactly that in this case,” a spokeswoman said., adding, “We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any inappropriate behavior in our clubs.”īut the gym allegedly refused to revoke the offender’s membership, said GB’s lawyer, Marc Held.It started with a phone call in early July.
The November incident left the straight, single dad “shaken up,” he said. “It is a problem, and it’s something that every gym in New York City, not just Equinox, has an issue with,” the manager said in a conversation with the victim, a recording of which was obtained by The Post. The freaked-out man told the front desk, but nobody took any action, the man, identified only as GB in court papers, alleges.Įquinox “had known for as much as 10 years prior that similar wrongful acts were occurring in its steam showers,” he alleged in a Manhattan Supreme Court filing against the fitness chain. “I thought, ‘No escape, I’m going to be sexually assaulted,’” just before fleeing, he recalled. The out-of-place gym-goer really began to sweat when he realized a third man in the tiny space was also staring at him and masturbating. “He’s looking right at me, his towel’s off and he’s masturbating,” the victim said. This gentleman, sitting pretty close, his towel is open, his legs are spread and he’s looking right at me, and the guy next to him was rubbing inner thigh,” the victim told The Post. “I’m relaxing, I’m sitting in the corner, it’s very meditative,” the alleged victim said of the initial vibe during a quick lunchtime steam at the Equinox gym on Broadway in Gramercy Park. Things got too hot in the steam room of one Manhattan gym, a lawsuit claims, after three men fixed their gazes upon an unwitting visitor, dropped their towels and started pleasuring themselves. NJ youth sports league became ‘adult party playground’ of booze, pot: lawsuitīattle looms over $1.5M 'Wizard of Oz' dress found in storage closet West Village developer stiffing neighbors over unpaid condo charges: suit Staten Island man sues animal shelter after adopted dog mauled him