Man feared he’d be sexually assaulted after three men masturbate in steam room
Gym taken to court after steam room incident
By Steve Brown
A man thought he was going to be “sexually assaulted” after three men masturbated in front of him while in a steam room.
The victim was in one of the steam rooms at the Equinox gym in New York City when he saw three men staring at him, then they dropped their towels and started pleasuring themselves, a lawsuit claims.
The man, identified only as GB, told the New York Post: “I’m relaxing, I’m sitting in the corner, it’s very meditative.
“The steam clears… And I look across from me. 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 [the man’s] inner thigh.
“He’s looking right at me, his towel’s off and he’s masturbating.”
The victim then realised a third man was also staring at him and masturbating.
He said: “I thought, ‘No escape, I’m going to be sexually assaulted’.”
After leaving the steam room, he told the front desk and nobody took any action, according to court papers, obtained by the publication.
GB – a straight single dad – filed against the fitness chain and said that the gym knew that there were “wrongful acts” in the steam rooms.
He said: “Equinox had known for as much as 10 years prior that similar wrongful acts were occurring in its steam showers.”
A recording was played in court and the manager of the gym said: “It is a problem, and it’s something that every gym in New York City, not just Equinox, has an issue with.”
According to a spokeswoman from the gym, they “thoroughly investigate” complaints and said: “We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any inappropriate behaviour in our clubs.”