Authorities are working to identify dozens of women they say were filmed unknowingly while in gym tanning and red-light therapy rooms in Arroyo Grande.
Arroyo Grande police say officers responded to Planet Fitness on the 1500 block of Branch Street back on Dec. 29 regarding a report of a man recording a partially nude woman in a tanning booth.
Police say the person was gone by the time they arrived but that they were able to identify a suspect through surveillance footage and witness statements.
Following a search of the suspect’s home and electronics, police say “officers discovered evidence indicating the suspect committed the same act numerous times over the course of the last year. The suspect would enter the locked tanning booth room, and record females who were in the tanning booth, nude or partially nude, without their knowledge.”
Police say they don't know how the man was able to unlock the doors and get inside the booths to record the women.
Police add that more than 50 videos showing female gym members inside the tanning and red-light therapy rooms were found during forensic review and that the recordings span from January to December of 2025.
“Investigators believe there are approximately 47 individual victims, the majority of whom have not yet been identified,” police said in a press release.
Police are working to locate the people in the recordings and are asking anyone who used the tanning or red-light therapy rooms at the gym last year to contact Officer Brandon Earnest at (805) 473-5110 ext. 7021 or at bearnest@arroyogrande.org.
KSBY called Planet Fitness in Arroyo Grande and was told by the employee who answered that they were not aware of the investigation. The employee said to "call elsewhere" before hanging up. KSBY also reached out to Planet Fitness via email and is waiting to hear back.
