AITAH for reporting a guy who was touching himself in a gym sauna, even after finding out he has a disability?

Also the mods on AITAH absolutely suck, got a permaban because someone wanted to go on a power trip over this post. Anyway what do you think

​I (24M) went to my gym's sauna/steam room with my girlfriend. The room was pretty packed when we walked in, so we found two open spots next to a guy and his dad.

​Shortly after sitting down, I noticed the guy sitting next to us fiddling inside his pants. His hands were under his shorts/waistband, moving up and down in a way that very clearly looked like he was jerking off. While doing this, he leaned forward to make direct eye contact with my girlfriend. I immediately leaned forward to block his line of sight and stare back at him, but he just kept going while staring right at me.

​Uncomfortable and pissed off, I left the sauna and immediately flagged down a lifeguard/staff member. The lifeguard went inside to investigate and address it.

​Afterward, the staff member told me that the guy was sitting with his dad, and the dad argued that his son has severe autism/a cognitive disability, "doesn't know any better," and wasn't doing it intentionally to creep anyone out. My response to the staff was that regardless of his condition, explicit behavior like that in a public, shared space isn't acceptable, and if he can't control it, he shouldn't be in a public sauna.

​Management ended up stepping in, evaluating the situation, and revoking the guy's membership. A manager actually called me later to give me an update and let me know he was banned.

​Now I'm feeling conflicted. The parents argued that he genuinely couldn't control it and didn't understand what he was doing wrong. While I get that his intent might not have been malicious due to his disability, the impact on everyone else in that room was still super uncomfortable and inappropriate. I felt I had to protect my girlfriend and set a boundary, but learning about his condition and knowing his membership got canceled is making me second-guess myself.

​AITA for reporting him and standing my ground?

Posted Aug 3, 2026, 1:54 PM UTC

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