Wi Spa Man Found Not Guilty of Nine Counts of Indecent Exposure

June 5, 2025

First, this week, a federal court in Washington DC blocked an executive order prohibiting the federal Bureau of Prisons from giving inmates hormones to “affirm” their “gender identities.” I haven’t had time to do a deep dive into that case yet, but I will. The court order is here, and a Washington Post article about it is here. I hope to write more on that soon. The judge who issued the order was appointed to the federal bench by President Reagan in 1987.

Next, have a look at a post by the LGB Courage Coalition about a new New York Times series titled “The Protocol,” which drops today. It’s about the administration of puberty blockers and opposite-sex hormones to children. The Times interviewed whistleblower Jamie Reed for the series, which is good, but caution is warranted.

This post is about the acquittal of a man who was charged with multiple counts of indecent exposure after appearing nude in the female-only section of a spa in Los Angeles. Readers may remember it as the “Wi Spa incident.” You can read all about the case in a recent article in Los Angeles Magazine.

In 2021, a man named Darren Merager went into Wi Spa in LA. A traditional Korean spa, Wi Spa separates patrons by sex in areas where nudity is expected (where nudity is not expected, the sexes are mixed). Merager stripped naked and paraded himself around in the female-only section, in front of undressed women and girls. Women and girls complained and, later, went to the police.

The police charged Merager with indecent exposure for, well, indecently exposing his genitals to women and girls. This week, he was acquitted on all counts. This should have been a straightforward case, right? It turns out, nope. Why?? Read on to learn more.

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