The Weaponization Of Self-ID Part II
The Transgendered Person Who Exposed Himself To Women And Girls At Wi Spa Has A History Of Indecent Exposure
A trans-identified man who exposed his genitals to women and girls at Wi Spa in Los Angeles has been charged with five counts of indecent exposure for that incident after being allowed to enter the women's-only area despite being a registered sex offender.
More than two months after a video of a woman confronting employees at Wi Spa for allowing the naked man to walk into the women's only section went viral, The Los Angeles Times is reporting that Darren Merager of Riverside County was “charged Monday with five counts of indecent exposure” and an arrest warrant has been issued in his name.
The publication noted that “Merager has been a registered sex offender since 2006, as a result of convictions for indecent exposure in 2002 and 2003, according to the LAPD.”
In December 2018, Merager was arrested for indecent exposure after he “exposed himself to women and children in the women’s locker room of West Hollywood Park.” I was able to obtain a copy of an internal flyer sent to law enforcement agencies in southern California suggesting that Merager identifies as a woman for predatory purposes.
“Merager claims to identify as female so he can access women’s locker rooms and showers,” the flyer read. Merager has pleaded not guilty to all six counts of indecent exposure filed in response to the West Hollywood incident and is due back in court on Sept. 8.
On June 23, several women confronted staff at the Wi Spa in Los Angeles’ Koreatown over accusations that Merager exposed himself in the women’s section. Video of the interaction was posted the following day on Instagram by a woman using the name “Cubana Angel.”
“It’s okay for a man to go into the women’s section, show his penis around the other women, young little girls — underage — in your spa?” she asked the staff. “He’s a man! He is a man!” The three-and-a-half-minute video was reposted across social media and promptly went viral.
Law-enforcement sources revealed that Merager is a tier-one registered sex offender with two prior convictions of indecent exposure stemming from incidents in 2002 and 2003 in California. Merager declined to comment on the convictions. In 2008, Merager was convicted for failing to register as a sex offender.
A law passed in California that went into effect this year replaced the state’s lifetime registration requirement to a tiered system. The law allows lower-tiered sex offenders to petition to be removed from the list. However, Merager is not eligible due to ongoing criminal charges. Merager also has a long criminal history in California that includes nearly a dozen felony convictions for crimes ranging from sex offenses to burglary and escape.
In a recent interview Merager says his open cases involving accusations of indecent exposure show a “pattern of abuse” from a state and society that punishes transgender people. “You allow [trans women] to go in there [women’s spaces] and then people simply claim indecent exposure and you’re arrested,” she says.
Merager says he is speaking with progressive California lawmakers, like state senator Scott Wiener, in the hope that they change state law to better protect trans people.
“If you go into an area where you’re expected to be nude, there has to be an indecent exposure exemption,” he says. Merager says she may file complaints or lawsuits for the discrimination she says she has been made to suffer by law enforcement and women in the Wi Spa. He says he has been in contact with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since learning of the warrant and plans to turn himself in.
California is one of 17 states that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in public accommodations. The incidents at Wi Spa and the subsequent reporting about Merager’s status as a sex offender come as congressional Democrats are working to pass the Equality Act, which would implement such protections for trans-identified individuals at the national level.
The Equality Act states that “an individual shall not be denied access to a shared facility, including a restroom, a locker room, and a dressing room, that is in accordance with the individual’s gender identity.” The legislation has passed the U.S. House of Representatives in both 2019 and 2021 but has stalled both times due to opposition in the Senate.
Darren Merager hid his status as a registered sex offender when he subsequently exposed himself to women and girls at Wi Spa on June 23 and claims there should be a “transgender exception” to any person with a sex offender status identifying as transgender who use spaces where they plan to be completely nude.
This is entirely the problem with Self-ID - any bad actor in bad faith can use it to shield themselves from legal scrutiny and that women aren’t able to know the difference between a man who exposes himself to women and girls and a man who exposes himself to women and girls whilst wearing a dress and calling himself Susan.