A woman has filed a lawsuit against a gym for negligence, alleging the employees allowed a man to take nude photos of her and other women.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 3, states staff at Viking Fitness Center in Marysville allowed Corey Normandin to continue visiting the gym even after an employee caught him taking the photos.
Normandin, 33, was arrested in August 2022 after a woman reported he had tried to take photos of her while she was in the tanning booth at the gym. He was sentenced in March to up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to six counts of capturing or distributing an image of an unclothed person and six counts of using a computer for a crime.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit was a victim in the criminal case, and was 18 years old at the time Normandin was arrested.
According to the complaint, another victim in the criminal case told the gym in June 2022 that a man had tried to open the tanning bed while she was using it and attempted to take a photo of her.
That woman told staff what happened, and a staff member identified Normandin as the man trying to open the tanning by reviewing security footage at the gym.
“Despite the complaint and determining Normandin was the person who attempted to gain access to the female member while in the tanning machine, the Defendant took no action against Normandin of any kind, and Normandin continued to have full access to the health club,” the complaint states.
The lawsuit alleges Viking Fitness Center was negligent because it did not take action against Normandin, he was able to continue photographing women, including the plaintiff, by hiding his phone in the tanning booth. It also states the gym should have prevented Normandin from having access to the tanning bed.
Jeff Bohm, who owns Viking Fitness Center and is also chairman of the St. Clair County Board of Commissioners, disputed the plaintiff’s allegation, saying Viking Fitness Center reported Normandin to the Marysville Police Department as soon as it discovered his behavior and revoked his membership.
“I’ve been doing this for 31 years. We don’t tolerate strange behavior from our members,” Bohm said.
Court Records state Marysville Police received a report of Normandin’s behavior on Aug. 23, 2022, two months after the lawsuit states the first photographs were taken.
Justin Morgan, the attorney representing the plaintiff, said the the report made to police included a statement by a Viking Fitness employee that the inappropriate photos began in June.
No court dates have been set in the case.
Contact Johnathan Hogan at [email protected].