A personal trainer has denied allegations that he had acted inappropriately with two female clients under the guise of taking “progress pictures”.

The defendant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has denied allegations that he sexually assaulted one woman and intruded on the privacy of a second in separate incidents in October 2024.

The first of the two complainants alleged that he had pulled her underwear while taking progress pictures on October 1, while the second claimed that he had instructed her to take off her bottoms for pictures that same month.

However, taking the stand in his own defence this week, the defendant denied all the allegations, stating that they were “absolutely not true”.

The trainer told the court that he had taken progress pictures — intended to show the progress the clients had made in their training — for several of his clients.

He said that before taking the pictures, he would always tell the clients that the decision to take the pictures, or what they felt comfortable wearing in the pictures, was entirely up to them.

The defendant accepted that he had taken pictures of the first of the complainants on October 1 in an office, and that they subsequently had a conversation about her stomach, although he could not remember the details of the talk.

However, he said he did not recall having any contact with her underwear and denied pulling them away from her body, agreeing that such behaviour was not something that would be expected of a personal trainer.

Regarding the second complainant, the defendant said he had a conversation with her about progress pictures and that she had agreed to take them in her underwear.

However, he said, he was “surprised” when they went to take the pictures and she did not have underwear on.

He said: “I didn’t feel uncomfortable. It was an awkward moment, but I didn’t feel uncomfortable.”

The defendant denied the allegation that he had told her she needed to take down her bottoms for the picture, stating: “That’s absolutely not true. Absolutely not true.”

He said he later attempted to broach the subject with her, telling her that the pictures would be kept in a private folder.

The defendant said: “It was almost like trying to make her feel that I’m not going to show any pictures in there, but at the same time I was trying to get a response from her that could lead to a discussion.

“I didn’t want to come across as accusing her of anything. I was beating around the bush.”

He said the same thing happened the second time he took progress pictures for her, but on the third occasion she was wearing underwear.

The defendant said on that occasion he made a comment to her stating that she was his only client who would take the pictures without underwear.

He added: “In that moment, I just pointed out that she was the only one that did it.”

He denied the suggestion that he had actually told her that she was the only person he made take down her underwear, stating: “I didn’t make anyone do anything at the gym.”

The defendant said both of the complainants were good clients and that he had no issues with either of them until the claims were made in October 2024, stating that the allegations came as a complete surprise.

Magistrate Auralee Cassidy, who is presiding over the case, is expected to deliver a decision on the case in November.

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