Former CA State Parks superintendent accused of secretly recording lifeguards appears in court

WESTMINSTER, Calif. (KABC) -- A former state park superintendent accused of secretly recording lifeguards in a locker room in Orange County made his first court appearance on Thursday, where his attorney requested a continued arraignment.

Kevin Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, is charged with 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.

Pearsall arrived wearing a white button-up shirt and a red tie. His attorney requested a new arraignment date, and the judge granted the request. The next arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 21.

At least nine alleged victims attended the hearing. All are adults, though attorney Mark Peacock, who represents some of the alleged victims, said there is a possibility that minors may also have been affected.

Pearsall is accused of recording audio and video inside a lifeguard locker room over a period of at least 11 months beginning in August 2024. On some occasions, Pearsall is accused of sharing those images with two other men.

After the hearing, two of the alleged victims spoke out about seeing their former boss for the first time since the allegations surfaced.

Park aides and lifeguards Richard Corey and Matthew Dawson joined multiple other co-workers who attended Thursday's hearing.

"I saw Kevin today in the hallway,'' Dawson told reporters. "When he walked past me my stomach dropped. ... I saw him smiling.''

He added, "This is not a joke. ... To me, it's obviously another game for him.''

Corey also noticed Pearsall's smile.

"It's already a betrayal, it already hurts, but who does that?'' Corey said. "The whole thing is messed up and hurts.''

Dawson and Corey said they were encouraged to show up to work in plain clothes and then change into their uniforms in the locker room because they looked too much like law enforcement officers.

When state officials told them about the investigation, the lifeguards went through a variety of reactions, Corey said.

"It was anger, sadness, betrayal,'' Corey said. "It was a wild day.''

He said since Pearsall was a sworn officer, "it was the highest level of betrayal.''

Corey said it was unsettling that some of the videos were passed on to others.

"That give you a lot of anxiety,'' Corey said. "We don't know how many people he's disseminated (the videos) to.''

Peacock said his clients are on edge about the case. Four of his clients were underage when they were filmed, he said.

Some of Peacock's clients attended the hearing wearing red ties for solidarity. Peacock said his clients also fear what happened with the videos.

"Where are all the photos and videos?'' Peacock told reporters. "Did they make their way to the dark web?''

He added, "You can fill in the blank how horrific that is.''

"I've talked to the clients' parents and I have emotional people on hand and they're terrified,'' Peacock told City News Service Wednesday. "A couple of them have said to me that they've tried to do everything right and this happens.''

Attorney Gloria Allred said Thursday she now represents nine alleged victims, including Dawson and Corey. She expects to file another lawsuit on behalf of her new clients soon.

According to the District Attorney's Office, the case stems from the discovery in July 2025 of a USB memory stick data storage device with a hidden camera in the men's employee locker room at the lifeguard headquarters.

State parks officials reviewed the content on the device and contacted the California Highway Patrol, which conducted an investigation that revealed Pearsall allegedly "was responsible for placing hidden cameras in the locker room, which recorded both audio and video, and using the hidden cameras to record numerous videos over an 11-month period beginning in August 2024,'' according to prosecutors.

"From 2023 through July of 2025, Pearsall served as a California State Parks superintendent, a sworn law enforcement position overseeing the management and operations of state parks in the Orange Coast District, including Orange County,'' according to the District Attorney's Office.

Pearsall is accused of sending images of nude or partially nude men in the locker room to two men, and making sexually charged comments about the victims' anatomy.

One of the alleged victims filed a lawsuit in June in Orange County Superior Court alleging hostile work environment harassment, sexual harassment and failure to prevent and remedy.

The plaintiff was "devastated'' by the allegations, his attorney, Ron Zambrano, told City News Service. "My client is shocked, devastated -- wrapped up in betrayal,''
Zambrano said. "He looked up to Pearsall as a mentor.''

The man began work as a seasonal lifeguard in 2018 and became a full-time employee in April 2022, Zambrano said.

The man at first had one of the lockers 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, Zambrano said.

"But it also happened to be a better angle for the camera,'' the attorney alleged.

Underage junior lifeguards also used the locker room, but it's unclear if they were also filmed, Zambrano said.

"I learned directly from one of the investigators this could have been happening as early as 2019,'' Zambrano said.

Pearsall appears to have retired in July 2025 when the first search warrant was executed, he added.

Pearsall faces a maximum sentence of 18 years and eight months behind bars if convicted on all counts, prosecutors said.

City News Service, Inc. contributed to this report.