SLO gym owner convicted of hiding camera in bathroom is taken to jail

Chloe Jones
·2 min read
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A San Luis Obispo gym owner who admitted to hiding a camera in the bathroom of his business was taken into jail custody on Tuesday.

On Nov. 28, Cole Corrigan, 36, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of using an instrument to view an area of privacy for sexual gratification and one felony count of illegally owning a firearm.

He faces 364 days in County Jail and two years of probation.

At Tuesday’s hearing, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jesse Marino said there are a few questions that need to be worked out to give the probation department recommendations, including a report that assesses the risk of potential sexual re-offending.

Cole Corrigan is taken into custody on Dec. 19, 2023 after pleading guilty to two privacy charges and one felony gun charge.
Cole Corrigan is taken into custody on Dec. 19, 2023 after pleading guilty to two privacy charges and one felony gun charge.

Once Corrigan is released from jail, he will be subject to drug tests and searches of his electronics, in addition to typical probation requirements. Corrigan is also barred from contacting the two victims in the case for 10 years.

Corrigan’s time in jail will likely be half the length of his sentence if he has good behavior. He can also apply to alternative sentencing, which, if approved, would allow him to serve his sentence under house arrest instead of in jail.

He will return to court Jan. 30 to be formally sentenced.

SLO gym owner admitted to hiding camera

Corrigan told The Tribune in an exclusive interview that he hid the camera in the bathroom to catch someone stealing his personal items from the bathroom’s vanity.

He was initially charged with five crimes after police searched his home in relation to a hidden camera found in the restroom of CCC Fitness — Corrigan’s “24-hour gym for females” — in September.

Cole Corrigan, owner of CCC Fitness in San Luis Obispo, said he hid a camera in a bathroom at his 24-hour gym because he suspected someone was stealing his personal grooming products.
Cole Corrigan, owner of CCC Fitness in San Luis Obispo, said he hid a camera in a bathroom at his 24-hour gym because he suspected someone was stealing his personal grooming products.

Detectives found a “ghost gun,” ammunition and a misdemeanor amount of testosterone when they served a search warrant at Corrigan’s Morro Bay home, police said at the time.

Between 2006 and 2008, Corrigan was previously convicted of multiple crimes, including felony drug charges and is not allowed to legally own a gun.

During the Tribune’s Oct. 23 interview in which Corrigan admitted to hiding the camera, he said the footage was only accessible via a livestream with no way to record footage for later viewing.

But on Nov. 3, the San Luis Obispo Police Department said detectives found recordings of two individuals on Corrigan’s camera.

The San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office subsequently modified the charges against Corrigan, adding a second misdemeanor privacy charge. The agency alleged Corrigan violated the privacy of two Jane Doe victims for sexual gratification, according to the charge sheet.