A group of lifeguards has expressed their distress over being potentially filmed naked by a former park warden in a Huntington Beach locker room, announcing a lawsuit against the state on Thursday.
Kevin Pearsall, aged 59 and from Long Beach, is accused of secretly capturing audio and video of employees changing in the locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach using hidden cameras.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Pearsall faces charges for taking intimate images of men over an 11-month span, with some of these recordings shared with other individuals.
During a press conference on Thursday, two of the alleged victims, accompanied by attorney Gloria Allred, detailed their lawsuit against the California Department of Parks and Recreation, which had employed Pearsall as a superintendent in Huntington Beach.
Matthew Dawson, a lifeguard since 2024, described the shocking discovery of the unauthorized recordings as “like a punch in the gut.”
“He made me undress on camera,” Dawson stated, branding it the “ultimate betrayal of trust.”
The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, represents the interests of Dawson, Richard Corey, Nicola Pecas, and another unnamed individual.
It accuses the department of sexual harassment and discrimination, as well as failing to prevent such misconduct, violations of California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act.
Pearsall is facing five felony charges for wiretapping, 23 misdemeanor charges for secretly filming individuals, and three misdemeanor charges for unlawfully distributing private recordings.
He is alleged to have used hidden cameras to capture footage and audio of employees changing in the Bolsa Chica State Beach locker room.
