Monday, 10 August 2026, 12:37
Former California State Parks superintendent Kevin Pearsall made his first court appearance Thursday in Westminster, facing charges that he secretly recorded lifeguards in an employee locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach. Pearsall, a 59-year-old Long Beach resident, did not enter a plea. Pearsall arrived at the courthouse wearing a white button-up shirt and a red tie. His arraignment was continued to Sept. 21.
Pearsall remains out of custody on his own recognizance after the Aug. 6 hearing.
Pearsall faces five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another, and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful dissemination of private recordings, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum sentence of 18 years and eight months in jail.
At least nine alleged victims attended the hearing, and all were adults, though attorneys said minors may also have been affected. Matthew Dawson and Richard Corey, both park aides who worked as lifeguards under Pearsall, said they saw Pearsall smiling in the hallway. 'What I saw is him smiling. I didn't smile back. This is not a joke to me,' Dawson told reporters.
Dawson and Corey are not among the 23 alleged victims covered by the criminal charges, said Kimberly Edds, a spokesperson for the Orange County District Attorney's Office.
Two sheriff's deputies followed close behind him as he left court. When asked, they said it was for safety reasons.
I saw Kevin today in the hallway, and when he walked past me my stomach dropped and I averted my eyes, I couldn't look him in the face. But what I saw, as I looked down, is him smiling. I didn't smile back, this is not a joke to me. Pearsall's attorney declined to comment after Thursday's hearing. He added, 'It is already a betrayal, but who does that?' Mark Peacock represents seven alleged victims. 'We are going to get some answers to some pretty hard questions,' he added. She appeared with two of them outside the courthouse.
Dawson added, 'To me, it's obviously another game for him.' Corey continued, 'The whole thing is messed up and hurts.'
Peacock said he and his clients were disappointed that Pearsall wasn't arraigned Thursday. "Naturally there is an avalanche of emotions, not only for them but for their families," Peacock said. "They're young men who were just starting their lives out. To put on a suit and tie and expect quick and easy justice, when that guy walks out, it just rebirths emotions of 'I'm pissed and I can't believe he did that.'"
It was not immediately clear where or with whom the images were shared.
Corey, a senior state park aide manager, said the sharing of the images made the betrayal worse. "That makes the whole thing worse. You don't know how many people he disseminated it to. That's the worst part," he said.
Spitzer added, "These victims had their privacy violated in such a disgusting way, and we will do everything we can to ensure they receive the justice they deserve."
Authorities said the case began in July 2025 when a USB memory stick data storage device with a hidden camera was found in the men's employee locker room at the Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters. State parks officials reviewed the content and contacted the California Highway Patrol.
Employees have said Pearsall urged them to change in one specific locker room, where the camera was allegedly found.
Dawson and Corey said they were encouraged to report to work in plain clothes and change into their uniforms in the locker room because they looked too much like law enforcement officers.
Investigators determined Pearsall placed hidden cameras that recorded both audio and video over an 11-month period beginning August 2024, prosecutors said. The locker room is restricted to full-time personnel, seasonal lifeguards, office staff, maintenance personnel, and park aides. Pearsall is also accused of sharing images of three victims with two other men and making sexually charged comments about victims' anatomy.
Prosecutors allege the camera recorded the "genitals or buttocks" of 23 different men without their knowledge.
There is a discrepancy about how far back the alleged recording may go. The Los Angeles Times reported a lawsuit says cameras may have been installed as far back as 2019. Mark Peacock, an attorney for alleged victims, said it is not confirmed. 'If it went that far back, then there's a good chance there will be more lifeguards popping up,' he said.
Ron Zambrano, an attorney for another alleged victim, said he learned directly from one of the investigators that the recording "could have been happening as early as 2019." He added that Pearsall appears to have retired in July 2025 when the first search warrant was executed.
Two of Pearsall's alleged victims spoke outside the courthouse. 'The best word to describe it is absolute betrayal,' Corey said. 'He's a sworn peace officer. Your boss is a peace officer. That's like the highest level of trust.'
Corey recalled the day they learned of the investigation. "It was anger, sadness, betrayal," he said. "It was a wild day." He said that since Pearsall was a sworn officer, "it was the highest level of betrayal."
Dawson said the locker room was a safe place to change. 'And he betrayed our trust,' he added. Peacock said his clients are anxious about where the recordings may have circulated. 'Where are all the photos and videos?' he asked. 'Did they make their way to the dark web?'
Corey also expressed anxiety about the sharing of the videos. "That give you a lot of anxiety," he said. "We don't know how many people he's disseminated (the videos) to." Some of Peacock's clients attended the hearing wearing red ties for solidarity. Peacock said their parents are terrified: "I've talked to the clients' parents and I have emotional people on hand and they're terrified. A couple of them have said to me that they've tried to do everything right and this happens."
Attorney Gloria Allred said she now represents nine alleged victims and plans to file another lawsuit. Attorney Ron Zambrano filed a suit in June alleging hostile work environment, sexual harassment, and failure to prevent and remedy harassment.
Allred also filed a complaint in Orange County Superior Court on behalf of three alleged victims, two of whom spoke out about what they described as the "ultimate betrayal of trust."
Zambrano said his client, who began working as a seasonal lifeguard in 2018 and became a full-time employee in April 2022, is "shocked, devastated ... wrapped up in betrayal." The client initially had a locker near the front door as part of the dues lifeguards pay to earn a more desirable locker further back, Zambrano said. But Pearsall, under the guise of praising the man's work, gave him a better locker. "But it also happened to be a better angle for the camera," the attorney alleged. Zambrano also said underage junior lifeguards used the locker room, and it is unclear if they were filmed.
Two civil attorneys who attended the hearing collectively represent 16 state parks employees in lawsuits against Pearsall and the California Department of State Parks and Recreation seeking financial compensation. Allred said, "Our clients will continue to seek accountability and justice for what they have been forced to suffer."
Bolsa Chica State Beach is in Huntington Beach in Orange County. Pearsall served as a California State Parks superintendent in the Orange Coast District, a sworn law enforcement position, from 2023 through July 2025, though NBC Los Angeles lists the start as 2024. The employee locker room is not open to the public. Former seasonal lifeguards, including teens as young as 15, may be among those affected.
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement: 'Instead of protecting his employees, Pearsall used his position to spy on the men who worked for him while they were in the place where they should have been the safest and then share those intimate images of his victims.'
Pearsall was employed by California State Parks from 1994 until his retirement in July 2025, according to NBC Los Angeles. After allegations surfaced, he was placed on administrative leave. The California Department of State Parks and Recreation said it takes these charges very seriously and has fully cooperated with law enforcement. The case is one of several recent California privacy invasion cases involving public employees; in a separate matter, a San Luis Obispo County man was charged with 12 misdemeanor counts of invasion of privacy for allegedly recording women in tanning booths.
The continued arraignment on Sept. 21 will be the next milestone in a case that has shaken trust in a public safety official. Victims and their families say they are seeking accountability and hope to learn whether any recordings were shared more widely. The civil lawsuits against Pearsall and the state parks department remain in progress.
