A former California State Parks superintendent and sworn law enforcement officer is facing dozens of criminal charges after prosecutors accused him of secretly recording lifeguards inside an employee locker room and sharing some of the footage with other men.
Kevin Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, appeared in court Thursday as the case involving allegations spanning nearly a year moves forward.
Pearsall faces five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another person and three misdemeanor counts of unlawfully distributing private recordings, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
His attorney requested a delay in his arraignment during Thursday’s appearance, which the judge granted. Pearsall is scheduled to return to court Sept. 21.
At least nine alleged victims attended the hearing.
Authorities allege Pearsall secretly captured audio and video inside a lifeguard locker room over an approximately 11-month period beginning in August 2024.
Prosecutors further allege that Pearsall distributed some of the recordings to two other men.
Several lifeguards who attended Thursday’s hearing described the anger they felt after seeing their former boss again.
Matthew Dawson, a park aide and lifeguard, said his “stomach dropped” when Pearsall walked past him in the hallway.
“I saw Kevin today in the hallway,” Dawson told reporters. “When he walked past me my stomach dropped. … I saw him smiling.”
“This is not a joke,” Dawson added. “To me, it’s obviously another game for him.”
Fellow park aide and lifeguard Richard Corey said he also saw Pearsall smiling.
“It’s already a betrayal, it already hurts, but who does that?” Corey said. “The whole thing is messed up and hurts.”
The locker room was regularly used by employees to change into their work uniforms.
Dawson and Corey said lifeguards had been encouraged to arrive in civilian clothing and change at work because wearing their uniforms outside could make them appear too similar to law enforcement officers.
That routine is now at the center of the criminal allegations.
Corey described learning about the investigation as an emotional experience for employees.
“It was anger, sadness, betrayal,” he said. “It was a wild day.”
Pearsall’s position made the allegations particularly disturbing to some of the employees.
From 2023 through July 2025, Pearsall served as a California State Parks superintendent overseeing operations in the Orange Coast District, including Orange County, according to prosecutors, per Trending Politics.
The position was a sworn law enforcement role.
Corey called the allegations “the highest level of betrayal.”
Questions surrounding where the alleged recordings may have been distributed have also created anxiety among the lifeguards.
“We don’t know how many people he’s disseminated the videos to,” Corey said.
Attorney Mark Peacock, who represents several alleged victims, said four of his clients were minors when they were allegedly recorded.
Some of his clients attended the court hearing wearing red ties as a show of solidarity.
Peacock raised concerns about whether the alleged recordings could have spread beyond the individuals identified by prosecutors.
“Where are all the photos and videos?” Peacock asked reporters. “Did they make their way to the dark web?”
“You can fill in the blank how horrific that is,” he added.
Attorney Gloria Allred said she represents nine alleged victims, including Dawson and Corey, and expects to file another lawsuit connected to the case.
The criminal investigation began after authorities discovered a USB memory stick containing a hidden camera inside the men’s employee locker room at lifeguard headquarters in July 2025.
California State Parks officials examined the device before contacting the California Highway Patrol.
Investigators subsequently determined that Pearsall allegedly placed hidden cameras inside the locker room and used them to capture numerous audio and video recordings beginning in August 2024, prosecutors said.
Authorities also accuse Pearsall of sending images depicting nude or partially nude men to two other men and making sexually charged comments about the alleged victims’ bodies.
The allegations have already resulted in civil litigation.
One alleged victim filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court in June accusing state officials of hostile work environment harassment, sexual harassment and failing to prevent and remedy the alleged misconduct.
Attorney Ron Zambrano, who represents the plaintiff, said his client had viewed Pearsall as a mentor.
“My client is shocked, devastated — wrapped up in betrayal,” Zambrano said.
The man began working as a seasonal lifeguard in 2018 and became a full-time employee in April 2022, according to his attorney.
Zambrano alleged that Pearsall later moved his client’s locker from near the entrance to a more desirable location deeper inside the room.
“But it also happened to be a better angle for the camera,” Zambrano alleged.
Questions have also emerged about whether additional underage workers could have been recorded.
Junior lifeguards reportedly used the locker room, although investigators have not publicly established whether they appeared in any footage.
Zambrano claimed an investigator told him the alleged activity could potentially date back even further.
“I learned directly from one of the investigators this could have been happening as early as 2019,” he said.
Pearsall reportedly retired in July 2025, around the same time investigators executed their first search warrant in the case.
If convicted on all charges, Pearsall faces a maximum sentence of 18 years and eight months in prison, according to prosecutors.
