Man charged with indecent exposure after Calgary arena change room incident

Calgary police have charged a 32-year-old man after he allegedly exposed himself in a dressing room with two young girls at Flames Community Arenas on Sept. 25.  The man was working as a member of a legal program that lets offenders work off fines at the time, but officials said he had no criminal history.

In a letter to members of the South West Arena Society (SWAS) Board, the general manager of Flames Community Arena said two young players on teams with Trails West and Glenlake were changing in a dressing room designated for females.

“While the girls were in the dressing room a Fine Option program person (male) entered the room with mop and bucket and proceeded to clean the washroom portion of the room. One of the young girls claimed that during that time the Fine Option person exposed himself. The other young girl in the room was not witness to the act.”

Fine Option is a program operated by Calgary Legal Guidance. According to its website, Fine Option “enables offenders to work off fines rather than making cash payments or going to jail.”

The FCA general manager’s letter said the Fine Option person was serving hours for traffic violations and had no prior criminal history.  Because of the incident, FCA management decided it will no longer participate in the program.

“The minor group representatives from Glenlake and Trails West recommended FCA should terminate its participation in the Fine Option program. The Fine Option program has been notified that FCA will not accept additional placements from this program until further notice.”

Calgary police say they’ve charged Ivan Matta with committing an indecent act in a public place.

FCA, Trails West and Fine Option did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Global News.

Editor’s note: The suspect’s name has been corrected to Matta, not Matto as originally published.