WASHINGTON — Police have arrested a parent they say attempted to record people in the bathroom of a Montgomery County gymnastics and fitness facility earlier this year.
Montgomery County police arrested 54-year-old Jonathan Oldale on Oct. 18 after they say, on May 5, he put a backpack containing a camera in the unisex bathroom at the Silver Star Gymnastics and Fitness Club located at 2701 Pitman Dr. in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Oldale is a parent whose children are enrolled in gymnastics classes at the studio, police said.
An employee called police after he saw a backpack under a “Wet Floor” sign on the floor of the bathroom and noticed a camera inside what appeared to be a car’s key fob inside the backpack. The camera “was hot to the touch” and its light was on, indicting that it was recording, the employee told police.
The employee removed the camera and said he witnessed Oldale remove the bag from the restroom. Oldale then asked the club’s front desk if anyone had turned in a key fob.
The employee recalled to police that three weeks earlier, he had located the same backpack, which he said contained cords and wires, in the facility’s unisex bathroom and Oldale said it belonged to him.
Detectives obtained search warrants for Oldale’s home and vehicle, where they found an instruction manual for a key fob camera. Also, police found videos of school-age girls surreptitiously recorded in a bathroom on his computer.
The recordings appear to have been downloaded from the internet, police said.
“At this time, detectives have not located any videos that include victims from the gymnastics studio,” police said in a news release.
Police obtained a warrant for Oldale’s arrest on Oct. 11, and on Oct. 18, he turned himself in to detectives. After he was transported to the Central Processing Unit, he was released on bond.
Oldale is being charged with conducting visual surveillance of an individual in a private place without his/her consent with prurient intent.
Anyone with information about the case can contact police at 240-773-6710.
