To ask a sex offender not to attend

[Pondlife87]

I have recently found out a sex offender teaches an exercise class I teach. He has served time for secretly filming women in the shower and on the toilet, and for having indecent (classified as severe) photos of children on his computer. It has made me feel very vulnerable. What would you do?

Where do you teach? Are you at a gym or renting a room from a leisure centre for example? I would probably go back to the management and ask for guidance on this in case the person got nasty when you spoke to them.

He teaches a class you teach? Or attends the class you teach?

You teach and he attends? Not quite clear

ATTENDS a class i teach* i really must learn to proof read.

Oh god I wouldn't want him there either. I'm not sure what you should do though.

How did you find this out?

What type of class is it?

How did you find out?

YANBU I don't think I would want him there in my class. I would pass on to management if there is such a thing (e.g. at a gym/leisure centre)

I'm surprised if it is a gym setting that he doesnt have conditions to adhere to.

If you're 100% sure that's true and there are women in your class then absolutely I wouldn't want him there.

Where did the information come from?
Is the information accurate?
Ask your employer's for the risk assessment and safeguarding
He would be expected to adhere to conditions and if not breaching those conditions would not be 'wrong' to be attending (I am not saying you have to teach him)
Talk to the management of where you work and ensure you have fact

Are you hired by them to teach it or do you run your own business and rent part of the gym to teach? If your hired by the gym then surely there’s risk assessments and safeguarding policies? If your own business do you not have these?

I'd be very uncomfortable around him also.

I have actually had someone take a picture of me while on the toilet, on a night out.

It's disturbing and violating to say the least.

Do you have rock solid proof? If so, take him aside at the start of the session next time and tell (don’t ask) him to leave and not come back. Your other clients would be horrified to know, I’m sure.

Would he be on a sex offenders register? I'd be very uncomfortable if I knew there were a man in any gym class I took with that record of behaviour.

What police et al. regard as "minor" sexual offences very often are an indication of likely escalation to full-on assault, if the perpetrator is given the opportunity.

What age are the attendees? Are there the wonderful new (unwanted by women) "mixed sex" changing facilities in the venue?
If he's a sex offender then he may well have some conditions attached to his freedom. I know of several sex offenders who are barred from going near any women's toilets / changing facilities - great idea but of course screwed by all the mixed sex facilities popping up everywhere.

I'd tell him he's not welcomer to attend.

I think he’d be on the SO register after those offences.

Does he have access to changing rooms or a public bathroom in your building? I’d be concerned about him setting up covert cameras. Any children around?

How do you know this? How long ago was his offence? If he is still on the Sex Offenders Register then he will have a police Offender Manager who is responsible for ensuring he abides by the conditions of registration. I would ask to speak to someone in the Sex Offender Team at your local Police station and tell them he is regularly attending the gym/venue so they can look into it

To answer some questions:
There are numerous news articles and i checked the criminal justice records
It's a yoga class
It's for adults (mainly women)
I'm self employed so work at various gyms/ leisure centres.
I will have a chat with the leisure centre. Thanks

Of course he is at a yoga class. Guaranteed to be almost all women. I am not suggesting that all men who go to yoga are sex offenders, my DH does yoga, just that yoga is highly likely to provide him with opportunities to plant cameras or spy on women changing.

I wouldn't care, tbh.
There could be 16 other SOs in your class you don't know about. At least this one was caught & you can keep an eye on him. The penalties if he reoffends are severe, he's safer to be around then the SOs you can never know about because they never got caught.

fwiw, one of the local delivery guys has a record for looking at child porn. I don't mind him delivering my parcels. He's got to make a living.

fwiw, one of the local delivery guys has a record for looking at child porn

It’s not child “porn”, it’s child abuse. You may think I’m being petty but trust me, it matters to a lot of people in very deep ways.

Thinking about what I wear when I do yoga and the nature of it, I'd stop attending if I know there was a predator present who filmed women in intimate / vulnerable positions. And I'd bet many (possibly most) of your other attendees would.
Can you be certain OP that he's not actually filming women in the class - either by a hidden camera in his belongings or by hiding a camera somewhere in the room?