A former California State Parks superintendent in Orange County has been released on bail after allegedly secretly recording lifeguards in the men’s locker room.
Prosecutors allege Kevin Pearsall, 59, installed a hidden camera in the men’s locker room at the Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard headquarters in Huntington Beach in August 2024. According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Officethe cameras recorded both audio and video, and filmed lifeguards and other state employees in various states of nudity over an 11-month period.
In July 2025, California State Parks staff discovered a USB flash drive in a male employee’s locker room. After reviewing the content, the agency requested the California Highway Patrol to investigate. Authorities later determined that the device contained a hidden camera.
The California Highway Patrol investigation identified at least 23 victims, all adult males, whose genitals and buttocks were recorded on hidden cameras. No one had consented to be photographed.
Prosecutors allege Pearsall shared some of the images with two other men and made sexual accusations about the genitals of state park employees.
Mr. Pearsall served as the California State Parks ranger from 2023 to 2025 and worked for the agency for almost 31 years, from 1994 until his retirement in July 2025. He resigned while on leave while the hidden camera investigation was ongoing.
After surrendering to authorities on June 23, he was released on his own recognizance. Arraignment is scheduled for August 6th at the Stephen K. Tamra West Justice Center in Westminster, California.
He is charged with five felony counts of wiretapping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another person, and three misdemeanor counts of unlawfully disseminating private recordings. If convicted on all charges, he could be sentenced to up to 18 years and eight months in prison.
“Instead of protecting his employees, Pearsall used his position to spy on the men who worked for him in what should have been the safest of places and shared intimate images of his victims,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
“These victims have had their privacy violated in such an abhorrent way, and we will do everything we can to ensure they receive the justice they deserve.”
Rob Zambrano, an attorney representing one of the alleged victims, called the secret filming “disgusting.” He said his client, whose name has not been released, was working as a state park peace officer and lifeguard assigned to Bolsa Chica State Beach at the time of the recording.
“[Pearsall] “I had a special attraction to certain employees,” Zambrano told the Los Angeles-area ABC affiliate. KABC. “In the end, my client was one of them.”
Zambrano told the outlet that he will file a civil lawsuit against the state of California for harassment and failure to prevent it. “The state of California is liable for Mr. Pearsall’s unlawful acts because he rose to power, as written in the law,” he said.
“California State Parks takes these charges very seriously and has cooperated fully with law enforcement throughout all stages of the investigation,” the department said in a statement to KABC. “Upon receiving a tip about these serious criminal charges, State Parks immediately contacted the California Highway Patrol and requested an investigation. As this is an ongoing criminal case, State Parks will not be commenting further at this time.”
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
