YMCA accused of negligence after woman alleges she was filmed in locker room
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
A woman is suing the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis after she alleged she was secretly filmed while showering in a locker room at a YMCA location in Hamilton County.
The lawsuit was filed Sept. 6 in the Marion Superior Court.
According to the plaintiff, she was filmed and/or photographed by a man named John Deramus II on Feb. 27 at the Fishers YMCA location on 126th Street.
The lawsuit claims Deramus filmed another woman at the same YMCA the previous day. The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis reportedly knew about that incident and viewed security camera footage of Deramus at the YMCA on that day.
The YMCA had previously prohibited Deramus from entering all YMCAs in the area for actions prior to Feb. 26. Deramus got into the YMCA in Fishers by using his cousin’s name.
Prior to the Feb. 26 and 27 incidents, Deramus was accused of secretly filming and/or photographing a naked woman at the Irsay Family YMCA on Feb. 14. This location is also owned by the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis.
Before that incident, Deramus had at least 38 previous incidents at the Irsay Family YMCA and had his membership suspended at least three times for entering the women’s locker room, according to the lawsuit.
Before the Feb. 14 incident and at the time of the following incidents, the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis had Deramus’s picture through his membership photo, the lawsuit states.
The plaintiff has requested a jury trial.
Deramus was charged with voyeurism and criminal trespass in Hamilton County back in March. He was charged for voyeurism in Marion County the same month.
He will go to trial in January for his charges in Hamilton County.
The YMCA issued the following statement to the Indiana Lawyer about the lawsuit:
“We are deeply disturbed by the allegations that have been made against John Deramus II.
The notion that any YMCA member might be subjected to such an invasion of privacy in our facilities is unacceptable. Our hearts are with everyone impacted by this situation.
At the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, the security and privacy of everyone who enters our doors is a top priority. We have several procedures in place that are designed to keep our YMCA community safe, including running daily screenings of all members against the National Sex Offender Registry and terminating any members that appear on that registry.
We have been working with law enforcement and will continue to do so to support them in their investigation.”