Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Police are investigating a camera found in a VASA Fitness tanning room in Kaysville.
- VASA Fitness alerted members two days later, raising privacy concerns.
- Many worry about the potential damage that has already been done with the camera being in the room.
KAYSVILLE — Police are investigating a disturbing incident at a VASA Fitness gym after a camera was found inside a tanning room on Wednesday.
"She was going into the tanning bed, and that's when she, well, a little later in the tanning bed situation, that's when she found the camera," Melanie Nielsen told KSL TV. Nielsen's family member took a picture of the camera, which appears to show it in plain sight, affixed to the top of the tanning booth with masking type propping it up.
"It was very evident that this was a camera," Nielsen said. "They weren't hiding it."
Nielsen's family member asked for her identity not to be revealed to protect her privacy but allowed Nielsen to share her story to raise awareness about the incident.
"I'm just really proud of her for coming forward because I think a lot of these things are swept under the rug," Nielsen said.
Nielsen also goes to the gym and said the tanning rooms are often busy. "(The camera) was in tanning bed N 1, so please be alert for yourself and for others," Nielsen said.
Other gym members expressed their concerns about the discovery that VASA Fitness and the Kaysville Police Department confirmed on Friday.
"It's shocking, it's really surprising. We have teenage daughters that come here, and just the thought that they could've been tanning and had their privacy violated," said VASA gym member Larry Ruiz.
VASA Fitness sent out to all VASA members at the Kaysville location stating:
In a statement to KSL TV, a VASA Fitness spokesperson said the company is also working with law enforcement to keep its members safe.
However, Nielsen questioned the gym's response. She said VASA Fitness did not notify gym members until almost two days after the camera was discovered.
"There was a question of, 'Are you going to tell people that this happened?' Nielsen said. "And the response (from the front desk was), 'We don't know how long it has been up, so how do we notify people?'"
According to Nielsen, the victim was also concerned about the staff's actions when she first reported the incident and questioned whether they had been adequately trained.
"There should be policies in place that protect people," Nielsen said. "There is education that should be coming from the top down of what to look for. Staff should be sweeping the rooms, they should be doing all of these things to protect people, especially in vulnerable situations."
Message from VASA Fitness to members:
Dear VASA Member,
In an abundance of caution, we wanted to notify members that a small recording device was discovered in our tanning area on December 11. A member alerted us to the situation, and we have turned the device over to local authorities to further investigate the incident.
At VASA, member and team member safety and privacy is our top priority. We have increased our surveillance of this area and will be conducting more frequent sweeps of not only the tanning areas but also locker rooms to help prevent future issues. In addition, we ask for your help in notifying a VASA team member immediately should you notice anything out of the ordinary or suspicious in one of these areas.
We thank you for your attention to this matter and appreciate you being a loyal VASA member.
Your VASA Family
Nielsen is also worried about the potential damage that has already been done with the camera being in the room.
"It's a lingering thing forever: Where is this going? Who is seeing it? Who has seen it?" Nielsen said. "You don't know if it will end up on the dark web."
Kaysville police said in a statement that they were investigating the incident, saying "This investigation is currently ongoing as we try to identify the suspect and potential victims. Further information will be released as it becomes available."
A police spokesperson also said they're trying to see if they can retrieve data and footage from the camera to build a timeline and identify other potential victims.
If you used the tanning room recently or have more information, please get in touch with Kaysville police by calling 801-451-4151.
