Playboy model Dani Mathers charged for Snapchat of elderly woman showering at the gym

She's got 99 problems but a celebrity endorsement ain't one! Hillary rolls Beyoncé and Jay Z out to help steady her rocky campaign and urge millennials to vote for her
Angry Obama stops crowd from turning on Trump supporter: President tells Hillary fans to shut up and show an elderly veteran some 'respect' after he disrupts rally
'I'm here all by myself ... No guitar, no piano, no nothing!' Trump says Hillary needs Beyoncé to pack 'em in as he draws 11,000 in Pennsylvania (and her celeb-boosted audience is SMALLER)
Playboy model Karen McDougal was 'paid $150,000 by National Enquirer for a story about her alleged affair with Donald Trump while he was married to Melania - but they never ran it'
Brad Pitt files for joint custody of six children he shares with Angelina Jolie as he cites 'irreconcilable differences' in his own divorce papers
Chelsea Manning attempts suicide in for the second time: Transgender soldier 'tries to kill herself after she was placed in solitary confinement'
Real estate heir Robert Durst is extradited to California for murder charge after he 'killed his best friend to keep her from talking about the disappearance of his first wife in 1982'
Kidnapped woman who was chained by the neck and feet watched her captor murder her boyfriend - before being held in a crate at 100-acre farm where at least one body has already been found
Rutgers put on lockdown Friday afternoon after three people were stabbed at the business school
Vanderbilt football star who urged his friends to gang rape his unconscious girlfriend as he filmed says ALCOHOL is to blame before getting just 17 years in prison - despite victim's plea for full sentence
EXCLUSIVE: Trump's 13-year-old 'rape victim' dramatically DROPS her case. Woman withdraws legal claim she was assaulted at Jeffrey Epstein sex party
Wall Street continues nine-day slide - the longest in more than 35 years - as Trump's poll gains and Clinton's email woes leave investors uncertain about how election will go
Justice Department's conspiracy to 'protect' Hillary: Trump lobs explosive charge at Loretta Lynch as he says she's trying to save her 'angel' from an indictment
Watergate part two? DNC told FBI it was BUGGED by unknown parties who tried to listen in on cell phone conversations
What if he did win? Pals with Putin, race riots, border battles with Mexico and nuclear war with China just a heartbeat away: DOMINIC SANDBROOK imagines President Trump's first 1,000 days
Melania Trump 'was paid $20,000 for modeling jobs in the U.S. BEFORE she was legally allowed to work in the country' - despite maintaining she never violated terms of her immigration status
FBI examines fake documents aimed at discrediting Clinton campaign as part of investigation into what is believed to be a Russian attempt to disrupt the election
'She'll be cheering from above Tuesday': Woman, 90, dies days after voting for Hillary Clinton as she waited her entire life to vote a woman into the White House
Clinton Foundation donors paid up to $140,000 for meetings with Bill Clinton, leaked memo reveals
That sinking feeling: Clinton has LOST her lock on the 270 electoral college votes needed for victory as Ohio, Utah and part of Maine move to Trump
Back to the daily grind: Huma Abedin is on school run duty again after a glamorous night at star-studded DC fundraiser - while her job remains in the balance amid FBI investigation
Hillary deleted a 2009 email showing that she forwarded classified information to Chelsea who had no security clearances
Hillary campaigns in Detroit and tells supporters that 'anger is not a plan' - as new poll shows Trump climbing to within 4 points
The cop who didn't shoot: Dramatic moment a man who 'killed his wife' crashes into a gas station and then charges at a police officer who draws his gun but DOESN'T pull the trigger despite clear danger

Dani Mathers, 29, was charged on Friday and could face up to six months in jail for invasion of privacy
Took Snapchat in July at her LA Fitness gym, writing: 'If I can't unsee this then you can't either'
The LAPD located the woman featured in the picture in September and recommended that prosecutors face charges
Mathers was banned from all LA Fitness gyms after photo was posted

By Anneta Konstantinides and James Wilkinson For Dailymail.com

Published: 15:02 EDT, 4 November 2016 | Updated: 09:37 EDT, 5 November 2016

e-mail

865

View
comments

Playboy model Dani Mathers will face charges for sending a cruel Snapchat that poked fun at a 70-year-old woman who was taking a shower at her gym.

Mathers, 29, was charged on Friday with a misdemeanor count of invasion of privacy and could face up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine if she is convicted.

The former Playmate of the Year's trouble began in July when she snapped a secret photo of the elderly woman at an LA Fitness gym and then took a selfie that showed her covering her mouth in laughter.

'If I can't unsee this then you can't either,' read the caption on the images.

Scroll down for video

Playboy model Dani Mathers has been charged with invasion of privacy for sending this cruel Snapchat that poked fun at a 70-year-old woman who was taking a shower at her gym

Mathers (pictured left) could face up to six months in jail if convicted for the picture

Detectives first began the investigation after the Los Angeles Police Department received a report of 'illegal distribution' of the image.

Mathers met with her lawyer in September, two days after the LAPD announced they had found the woman featured in Mathers' Snapchat.

Authorities also revealed they were recommending that prosecutors charge Mathers with dissemination of private images.

Mathers appeared to try and rehabilitate her image following the controversy, pledging her support for anti-bullying non-profit The Tyler Clementi Foundation.

In one tweet, Mathers said she had signed the foundation's Upstander pledge - which asks supporters to vow they will stand up to bullying and never use demeaning language to insult others.

Mathers appeared to try and rehabilitate her image following the controversy, pledging her support for anti-bullying non-profit The Tyler Clementi Foundation (tweets from September)

'Let's end bullying in its tracks by working together in being #upstanders', she wrote.

But another anti-cyberbullying group, known as Cure the Hate, claimed Mathers only reached out to them after the LAPD recommended that she be charged.

Cure the Hate said they reached out to Mathers shortly after she came under fire for the picture and followed up with her seven times, according to TMZ.

The organization claims Mathers finally responded in September - after the woman in the picture had been found.

TMZ reported that Mathers eventually decided to pass on working with the group completely.

The model first apologized for the Snapchat post in July, tweeting: 'I'm sorry for what I did... I need to take some time to myself now to reflect on why I did this horrible thing.'

Mathers also claimed in a Snapchat video to her fans that she had intended to send the photo only to a friend.

Mathers (second from left) also claimed in a Snapchat video to her fans that she had intended to send the photo only to a friend

'I just want to acknowledge a photo that I accidentally posted,' she said in the clip posted to her Snapchat Story. 'It was absolutely wrong and not what I meant to do.'

'I chose to do what I do for a living because I love the female body and I know body shaming is wrong, that's not what I'm about and this is not the type of person I am.

'The photo was taken as part of a personal conversation with a girlfriend and because I am new to Snapchat I didn't realise I had posted it, and that was a huge mistake.

'I know I have upset a lot of people out there but please believe me this is not the type of person that I am.

'I have never done this before and I will never do this again, you have my word.'

After the posting Mathers was banned from all LA Fitness facilities and dropped from a regular slot on 'The Heidi and Frank Show', an LA radio show.

LA Fitness Executive Vice President Jill Grueling called Mathers' behavior 'appalling'.

'[It] puts every member at risk of losing their privacy,' Grueling added.

The model first apologized for the Snapchat video was a tweet in July (pictured)

After the posting Mathers (second from right) was banned from all LA Fitness facilities and dropped from a regular slot on 'The Heidi and Frank Show,' an LA radio show