A registered sex offender has been charged with indecent exposure after he allegedly tricked an employee at the Northport Planet Fitness gym into the men's restroom and began masturbating in front of her.

According to a deposition filed Thursday, the suspect, 38-year-old Trent Anthony Buffer, walked into the gym on July 27th without a membership. Buffer allegedly entered the restroom, exited the building and came back in again before stopping a woman working there and telling her there was no soap in the bathroom's dispensers.

The victim asked Buffer to wait outside while she addressed the issue, but found the dispensers were full and did not need refilling. When she turned around to leave the restroom, Buffer was reportedly behind her, naked from the waist down and pleasuring himself.

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The victim fled the restroom and called police, who arrested Buffer at the scene and charged him with indecent exposure.

Court records and other reports indicate Buffer has a long criminal history of this kind of crime.

According to the Tuscaloosa News, Buffer was caught spying on a woman in a bathroom in 2015 and later pleaded guilty to criminal surveillance.

In 2017, he was indicted and charged with criminal surveillance for allegedly spying on a woman in a dressing room.

In June 2018, Buffer allegedly hid in the bathroom of a Northport gas station while it was cleaned and a female cashier discovered him masturbating in a toilet stall. At the time, he reportedly told police he "gets more sexual gratification when someone finds him playing with his penis."

In June 2020, the same scene played out in the bathroom of a Dollar General store in Northport, and Buffer was charged with violation of the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

After the incident at Planet Fitness, Buffer was placed in the Tuscaloosa County Jail. His bond was set at $3,000 for the misdemeanor indecent exposure charge, but at the time of his arrest, Buffer was out of jail on bond for two alleged SORNA violations. Those bonds have been revoked, and Buffer will remain jailed until a judge reviews the case and decides if he should be released again.

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