Man accused of recording people inside Planet Fitness tanning bed room pleads not guilty

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — A man accused of using a hidden camera to record ten victims inside a tanning bed area at a Decatur Planet Fitness pleaded not guilty to the charges in court on Wednesday.

On March 19, police arrested 55-year-old James Barone on numerous charges, including child pornography. Police said one of the victims was a teenager. Barone has been out on pre-trial release.

Planet Fitness, a gym and fitness center, is located on North Water Street in the Brettwood Village Shopping Center. Police said Barone was a customer at the location.

A sworn affidavit of Barone's arrest said the gym's manager told police that a member found the camera hidden in the tanning room on March 15. The affidavit said a small, battery-operated camera was stuck to a shelf by a piece of tape.

According to police, they were notified on Tuesday about the hidden camera. But police said the camera was placed on March 14, discovered by Planet Fitness on March 15th, but not reported to police until March 17. It's not clear why there was a delay in notifying police.

The affidavit said police found 66 videos on the camera featuring at least 10 different people — including some who were fully nude.

Police identified the individuals recorded on the hidden camera and notified them.

Detectives used still images from deleted videos found on the camera's SD card and facial recognition software to identify Barone as a possible suspect, according to the affidavit.

They also obtained security footage from Planet Fitness that showed Barone going into the tanning bed room on the day the camera was hidden, the affidavit said, moments before one of the women secretly recorded on camera entered the room to tan.

Barone was arrested March 19, and a search warrant was executed at his home. Several electronic items were seized and will be analyzed. Police have not said if Barone placed hidden cameras elsewhere, but they were still looking through evidence.

After being booked into the Macon County Jail, Barone was granted pre-trial release on charges of child porn, burglary, and unauthorized videotaping. A judge ordered Barone to not visit any Planet Fitness locations, leave the state without permission, have no contact with anyone under the age of 18, or have any contact with a named victim in the case.

He is due back in court June 4.

Planet Fitness representatives released the following statement to WAND News:

"At Planet Fitness, the safety and privacy of our members is our top priority, and we do not tolerate inappropriate behavior of any kind. As this is an ongoing investigation, we refer any additional inquiries to the local authorities."

Police said Planet Fitness has been cooperating with the investigation.

This is a developing story.