Secret Filming At Gym Studio Restroom Prompts Community Meeting

CHEVY CHASE, MD — Montgomery County police will hold a Child Safety Meeting at the National 4H Center in Chevy Chase Wednesday night concerning the arrest of Jonathan Oldale.

Police said Oldale set up a a video camera in the restroom at Silver Star Gymnastics and Fitness Club, located at 2701 Pittman Drive in Silver Spring. Many parents have expressed concern about Oldale's possible interaction with children in the community, which led to the community meeting.

It will be held at 7100 Connecticut Ave. at 7:15 p.m., and representatives from the Special Victims Investigations Division will be on hand to respond to questions.

"The Police Department will do its best to provide what information it can, help the community understand the process moving forward, and provide contact information for members of the community if they suspect their child may be a victim of a crime," Commander Paul Liquorie said in a statement.

Police obtained a warrant for Oldale's arrest Oct. 11; he turned himself in Oct. 18 and was charged with conducting visual surveillance of another person in a private place without consent, police said.

The attempted filming at the gymnastics studio was reported May 5 by an employee. About three weeks earlier, the staffer told police, he noticed a backpack on the floor of the studio's unisex bathroom, picked up the backpack and saw various cords and wires inside it. As the employee left the bathroom he was approached by Oldale, whose children are enrolled in gymnastics classes at the studio. Oldale said the bag belonged to him and took it.

See Related: Man Secretly Filmed In Gymnastics Studio's Restroom: Police

On the day he called police, the employee said the same backpack was positioned underneath a "Wet Floor" sign on the bathroom floor. A camera had been placed inside what appeared to be an automobile key fob and a light on the camera was illuminated, leading the staffer to think it was turned on.

Authorities say the employee took the camera out the backpack to see if anyone would retrieve it. Oldale was reportedly seen taking the bag from the restroom. He then went to the club's front desk twice to ask if anyone had turned in a key fob.

During a search of Oldale's home and vehicle, investigators reportedly found an instruction manual for a key fob camera in Oldale's vehicle. An exam of a computer in his home turned up two videos of unidentified school-age girls being surreptitiously recorded while they were urinating in a bathroom.

Police say those recordings appear to have been downloaded from the Internet. To date, detectives have not located videos that include victims from the gymnastics studio.

If you have an immediate concern about your children, please email SVID Lieutenant Sheila Sugrue (sheila.sugrue@montgomerycountymd.gov). Due to fact this is an active investigation, it may not be possible to comment on certain specifics of the case, police said.

Photo: MCPD