XENIA, Ohio — A transgender woman who used changing facilities at the Xenia YMCA has been charged with public indecency, court records show.
Rachel Glines, of Fairborn, was charged in Xenia Municipal Court with three counts of public indecency, for incidents that allegedly happened in 2021 and 2022.
Xenia police received “several complaints of a naked man in the females’ locker room” of the YMCA branch, which is located on Progress Drive in Xenia, according to the criminal complaint.
In a Jan. 24 video posted to YouTube and Facebook, Xenia council president Will Urschel told a meeting of the Greene County Tea Party that if the city is able to successfully prosecute the person involved, they may bring legal action against the YMCA for aiding and abetting the alleged crime. No charges have yet been filed against the organization.
Urschel’s comments were slammed by Democrats after the video was circulated online.
“It’s extremely disappointing to see our elected officials — who are, let’s face it, vast majority Republican — that instead of focusing on the issues that are hurting people right now in Ohio, and in Greene County, with inflation and good-paying jobs being harder to come by every day, this is what they’re focusing on,” said Kim McCarthy, chair of the Greene County Democratic Party.
Urschel said Monday that the criminal case is about enforcing public indecency laws regardless of gender, adding that his opinion did not represent those of the city of Xenia. He said he did not know he was being recorded.
Urschel added that the murkiness of Ohio’s non-discrimination laws means that civil rights laws and public indecency laws are in conflict, and that Xenia could potentially exercise home rule under Ohio law to define sex inside city limits for matters of litigation.
“Personally, if there’s this level of confusion, I think we should resolve that confusion,” he said. “The pendulum has swung to where gender identity rights have trumped laws of privacy and public indecency. There’s things that we could do to address it in a more balanced way.”
The YMCA of Greater Dayton has said that state non-discrimination laws require it to allow transgender individuals to use locker rooms, changing rooms and bathrooms that align with their gender identity. They say posted locker room guidelines ask patrons to “remain properly covered while in public areas of the locker room.”
The city of Xenia released a statement Tuesday regarding the social media video, saying the city’s law department has no plan or intention of bringing charges against the YMCA.
“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 city’s statement reads.
According to the Ohio American Civil Liberties Union, there is currently no state law in Ohio that protects LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in public accommodations. Some cities have adopted their own non-discrimination ordinances, including Dayton and Yellow Springs.
Neither Glines nor her lawyer could be reached for comment. She is due in court on Feb. 6.
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