Transgender woman charged over YMCA locker room incident

A transgender woman has been charged with indecent exposure after allegedly stripping naked in front of women and girls at an Ohio YMCA, authorities said.

Rachel Glines, 31, whose legal first name is Darren, was charged with three counts of indecent exposure in connection with at least three incidents at the Xenia Y dating back to 2021 and 2022, WHIO reported.

Women “reported seeing a naked male in the females’ locker room,” including when three underage girls were present, according to the outlet, which cited court records.

A woman who was at the Y with her two daughters — a 13-year-old and a 16-year-old — said she was “upset” and “shaken” when she saw “a completely naked man” who was “facing away from his locker” and “completely exposed to the rest of the locker area,” WLWT reported.

“She asked him if he was a woman, to which the man replied that he was,” according to the police report.

The woman claimed the director of the Y told her men could not be kept out of the women’s locker room.

Xenia City Council President Williams Urschel recently addressed the incidents during a discussion at a Greene County Tea Party meeting.

“So she went to the front desk and said, ‘Hey, I don’t know if you know what’s going on, but there’s a naked man in there,’” Urschel said, WHIO reported.

“She was informed, ‘No, this is actually a woman,’ and that ‘you shouldn’t be disturbed by this,’” he added.

A city rep told WHIO that Urschel’s comments were “his own and were not authorized by or on behalf of the rest of the city council, the mayor, the city manager or the law director.”

The spokesperson added that the city’s law department did not plan to bring charges against the YMCA.

“Neither the Xenia City Council, nor any member of the council, had any part in the decision to file public indecency charges regarding the use of the YMCA’s locker rooms,” the rep told the outlet.

“The decision to file charges was based on the facts presented to the Law Department by the Xenia Police Division and the language of state statute,” the spokesperson added.

In a statement, the YMCA of Greater Dayton said it “adheres to Ohio and Federal laws and antidiscrimination laws which allow all members access to its facilities and programs, regardless of religion, national origin, race, color, sex, age, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.”

It added that it “has a strong record of both protecting personal privacy and modesty in our facilities which are both safe and accommodating while serving and including all members of the community equally.

“Given our strong record, our adherence to the law, our dedication to inclusiveness, and our environment designed to protect personal privacy for all, we will not alter our current policies,” the YMCA of Greater Dayton said.

“Let it be known that, under no circumstances will we investigate an individual’s birth gender identity and then, assign individuals to locker rooms. That would be counter to the law, counter to respect for all people, and it is not who or what we are as an organization,” it added.

Glines’ attorney had no comment.