A woman working out at a Las Vegas gym in June confronted a man she says was pointing a phone at her from underneath her locker room stall, demanding, “Why are you recording me?” Police now say that man, identified as Jacob Godown, used a barcode from another gym to sneak into the women-only area of Las Vegas Athletic Club Central, then hid in a stall until women left before recording video of them changing.
According to KLAS 8 News Now, which obtained the police arrest report, the woman called 911 on June 24 to report Godown after spotting him in the parking lot of the club at 2600 block of Maryland Parkway, sitting in the same red vehicle she'd seen him drive away in following the incident. Staff at the gym had already obtained a picture of his car and license plate, which helped investigators track him down. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department later identified Godown as the suspect and determined there was probable cause to arrest him for capturing images of another person's private area without consent.
Police say the recorded video, from June 15, showed Godown filming a woman from underneath her stall at the club, an 80,000-square-foot facility that operates 24 hours a day and includes a women-only workout area, saunas, and locker rooms, according to Las Vegas Athletic Clubs. Godown reportedly told officers a shifting series of explanations for why he was there — first saying he'd gone to use the pool, then that he went to use the sauna and accidentally wandered into the women's locker room, and eventually admitting he hid in a stall until the women left. He also told police he was not a member of LVAC and had instead used a barcode from another gym to get past the front desk.
A Drug Charge Complicates the Case
The investigation took another turn when officers approached Godown in his parked vehicle outside the gym. As they questioned him, they reported seeing him moving his hands and arms around his waistband, and a records check turned up outstanding warrants for his arrest. During a search of the vehicle, officers said they spotted a small plastic baggie containing white powder they suspected was cocaine, along with a digital camera and two iPhones.
Godown was arrested on the warrant and on suspicion of cocaine possession, and later told officers he was high on cocaine at the time and did not remember what he did in the locker room. Under Nevada Revised Statute 453.336, possession of a Schedule II substance like cocaine in amounts under 14 grams is charged as a Category E felony carrying one to four years in state prison, according to Justia Law.
Officers Reviewed Videos, Then Used a Ruse to Make an Arrest
When police reviewed the videos stored on the iPhones recovered from the vehicle, they found several clips from June 15 showing people changing in locker room stalls, though the review found Godown did not appear in footage from the pool area. Godown denied recording anyone in the locker room and claimed a girl had accused him of something at the gym, but police determined he had knowingly and intentionally captured an image of another person's private area in a location where she had a reasonable expectation of privacy.
To finally take him into custody, officers called Godown on Aug. 25 and told him he could come to the station to pick up one of his seized phones. When he arrived, he was arrested. He now faces a charge of capturing, distributing, or displaying an image of a private area, and is expected in court on Sept. 14. Under Nevada Revised Statute 200.604, a first offense of that kind is a gross misdemeanor punishable by up to 364 days in jail and a $2,000 fine, escalating to a Category E felony on a second offense, per Justia Law's summary of the statute. That same law keeps any images seized as evidence confidential and barred from public release, which is why footage cited in the police report won't be disclosed.
A Gym Chain With Prior Safety Scrutiny
Las Vegas Athletic Clubs operates seven multi-service fitness centers across the valley, making it one of the largest regional health club operators in Southern Nevada, according to Club Membership Cost. The chain previously came under regulatory scrutiny after the Southern Nevada Health District required it to implement enhanced safety measures and third-party facility audits following a member death in a pool area, as Hoodline reported pools would reopen under a new compliance plan in October 2024.
Nevada privacy and workplace standards prohibit installing recording devices in changing rooms, restrooms, and locker rooms because they are legally protected spaces with an expectation of privacy, according to the Nevada Association of Employers. National fitness industry guidelines from the Health & Fitness Association similarly urge gyms to post explicit signage restricting phone use in locker rooms to curb the kind of privacy risk smartphone cameras have created in changing areas nationwide. It remains unclear whether Godown had any valid guest credentials beyond the barcode police say he used, or whether investigators have identified additional victims from the footage recovered on his devices.
