A tennis pro is due back in court next week after being charged with secretly videotaping a naked man in the men’s locker room of a club, according to multiple media reports.
Michael Quirke was arrested Aug. 12 following the alleged incident at the Weymouth Club, Weymouth, MA. At his arraignment three days later, Quirke pleaded innocent to charges of disorderly conduct and photographing an unsuspecting person in the nude. He was held on $2,500 bail and barred from going near the Weymouth Club. Quirke is due back in court on Sept. 7.
The 21-year-old victim, according to reports, allegedly caught Quirke, 47, videotaping him with a hand-held camera and later confronted him in the club’s lobby.
Steve Goldman, owner of the Weymouth Club, said Quirke was placed on immediate leave and prohibited from accessing the club.
“We were extremely shocked and concerned to learn of the charges against Mike Quirke, who served as a staff member at the Weymouth Club for over 15 years,” Goldman said in a statement.
The day after the alleged incident, the club sent an email to members, informing them that the club’s Tennis, Fitness and Arts Program and Tennis Academy—for which Quirke was involved—had been cancelled for the remainder of the summer. The club added that Quirke had had no prior accusations of any inappropriate behavior.
“As a member of the South Shore community, we have built our reputation on providing an environment that is both safe and comfortable,” Goldman said in the statement. “We have strict protocols in place for screening, hiring and evaluating our staff. This matter has been turned over to the police, and we will continue to cooperate with them until final resolution.”
Quirke is the second tennis pro at the Weymouth Club to face criminal charges in the past two years. In 2009, Louis Desmarteaux, then a part-time instructor at the club, was charged with the rape of a female child over 14 and 40 counts of indecent assault and battery. The allegations involving the 15-year-old occurred the year prior to Desmarteaux’s employment at the Weymouth Club, which terminated him. Desmarteaux has a Sept. 15 court date.