January 26, 2018 at 4:50 p.m.
Tanning salon owner charged with invading customer's privacy
Tanning salon owner charged with invading customer's privacy
By Kayla Thomason-
David W. Meinnert, 69, owner of Sunburst Tanning at 315 S. Eisenhower Parkway, was charged Jan. 22 with a single count of invasion of privacy - a Class A misdemeanor.
According to the criminal complaint, the alleged victim told police that Meinnert convinced her to take an upgrade and utilize the newer high intensity tanning bed when she visited the salon Jan. 18. The woman said Meinnert had offered the upgrade in the past but she had always turned him down. After removing her clothes and entering the tanning bed, the woman said she heard a door in the next room open and began to feel uncomfortable as she knew the tanning bed in that room was broken.
The woman told police "she felt exposed in the room and didn't feel comfortable with the way David seemed to be pushing or pressuring her to use this particular tanning bed," the complaint states.
Although tanning bed users are told to keep their eyes closed for safety reasons, she told police she decided to open her eyes "and observed David looking over the top of the 10-foot partition wall," the complaint states.
Each tanning bed is in its own room with a approximately 10-foot high walls, however the ceiling is approximately 15-feet tall, leaving a gap, the complaint states.
The woman said she got dressed and confronted Meinnert who apologized for his behavior and described himself as being an "old pervert I guess."
When questioned by police, Meinnert said he offered the woman the upgraded tanning bed to keep her business, the complaint states.
When asked why he climbed up the wall, Meinnert said "you know why" and added that he "didn't really do it on purpose."
When officers asked Meinnert to demonstrate how he got into position to see the woman, he climbed onto the broken bed and hoisted his body up over the wall.
Meinnert told police this was the first time he peered at any of his customers while they used the tanning beds.
When asked how he had known where to climb to avoid detection he did not respond. When the officers asked for his cellphone he claimed he must have left it at home, however a short while later an employee found the cellphone in a desk drawer.
"David lowered his head and admitted he had hid it when he learned the police were coming to speak with him," the complaint states.
Investigators located one nude photo on the phone but Meinnert claimed it was sent to him by a friend in exchange for free tanning sessions.
Meinnert is free on a $5,000 signature bond. However, as a condition of bond he may not be on the premises of the salon or any other facility with public locker rooms. A status conference in this case is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Feb. 19.
If convicted, he may be fined no more than $10,000, imprisoned no more than nine months or both.
Kayla Breese may be reached at [email protected].
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