Firefighter accused of filming nude woman in fitness center tanning booth
A recently appointed Spencer firefighter admitted to filming a woman who was using a tanning booth at a local gym on Saturday, according to Spencer police.
Duane Stephens, 29, of Spencer, was arraigned Monday in Western Worcester District Court on a single count of photographing an unsuspecting person in the nude. Police said he was released on bail.
Police said a 25-year-old woman was exiting a tanning bed at Guaranteed Fitness when she noticed a cellphone being held above the wall from an adjacent tanning room. When the woman tried to confront the suspect, he fled, according to police.
After reviewing security footage and sign-in logs from the fitness center, police said they went to Stephens’s home to question him about the incident. He was arrested and his phone was seized after he admitted to taking the video and deleting it, according to police.
In a voluntary statement obtained by the Worcester Telegram, Stephens apologized to the victim:
“I swear I was never going to post or upload any photos or send anywhere, ever. I regret what I did and will never do anything of this nature again. Ever. I am sorry and words cannot express my apologies to the victim.”
Stephens was terminated from the fire department after the incident, according to the Telegram.
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