A biological male who identifies as a transgender woman who was wanted for indecent exposure in women’s changing rooms in Los Angeles has been arrested after 15 months on the run, according to Daily Mail.
The suspect, 53-year-old Darren Merager, is reportedly a convicted sex criminal who now identifies as a woman. Merager was charged with five felony counts of indecent exposure for the two changing room incidents, one of which occurred at a spa in front of an underage girl. And, Merager has a history of committing other crimes (via Daily Mail):
Merager's apparent ruse first made headlines in June, when a female patron at Wi Spa posted a video to social media that showed her complaining to staff a man had exposed his penis to her and others - including a young girl - in the women's section.
'It’s okay for a man to go into the women’s section, show his penis around the other women, young little girls — underage — in your spa?' the frustrated woman, who is reportedly being treated as one of the victims in the case, can be heard asking staff in the clip.
'He’s a man! He is a man!' The three-and-a-half-minute video was promptly reposted across social media and soon went viral - forcing Wi Spa to address the incident, with staffers saying they stood behind Merager and her alleged gender identity.
This is the June 2021 Wi Spa video. It was recorded by a woman law enforcement view as a victim of a sex crime so I'm not naming her. This incident was falsely reported by @loisbeckett @SamTLevin @e_urq as a hoax. After 15 months on the run, the suspect was apprehended last week. pic.twitter.com/M8SnYhGDVz
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) December 19, 2022
As attention around the spa incident grew, police became aware that Merager was wanted for another incident in a women’s changing room at a pool (via Daily Mail):
The alleged altercation, according to police, was eerily similar to the occurrence at the spa, and saw Merager labeled a fugitive from the law after she failed to address the indecent exposure charges leveled against her after the incident - of which there were six.
Merager was arrested and booked by the Los Angeles Police this month for the incidents that occurred at the spa and at a pool. Police filed more charges against him following a three-month investigation. Merager reportedly faces 11 charges total and accessed women’s changing spaces using his “gender identity” as a transgender woman.