Feb 16, 2007 3:30 PM
Bally’s Employee Faces Sexual Abuse Charges
GUILDERLAND, NY -- A Bally Total Fitness employee in Guilderland, NY, is facing separate charges of sexual abuse. James Carter was arrested on Feb. 3 and charged with forcible touching, sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment. According to the Albany (NY) Times Union, police said that Carter had locked himself and a female client in a back room at the Bally’s facility in Crossgates Mall and forcibly touched her.
More charges were filed on Feb. 8 after another woman came forward with a similar account. A third woman told police that Carter stopped her at the mall and enticed her to come inside the fitness club.
Carter, who had worked at Bally less than a year, posted $3,000 bail after his initial arrest and was released from Albany County jail. The bail was set at $4,500 on Feb. 8.
Bally’s spokesperson Matt Messinger says that Carter has been suspended pending the outcome of the investigation and that Bally is working closely with the local authorities.
“The safety and security of our members is our top priority,” Messinger says.
