Prosecutors said hidden cameras recorded 23 men at Bolsa Chica State Beach over 11 months.
SANTA ANA, CA — A former California State Parks superintendent was charged Wednesday with secretly recording nude lifeguards and other workers in an employee locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach in Huntington Beach, prosecutors said.
Kevin Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, faces 31 criminal counts in a case that prosecutors said grew from the discovery of a USB device hidden inside the men’s employee locker room. The charges place a former sworn law enforcement supervisor at the center of an investigation involving workplace privacy, state beach operations and alleged recordings made over nearly a year.
Pearsall is charged with five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another person and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful dissemination of private recordings. The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said he could face up to 18 years and eight months in Orange County Jail if convicted on all counts. Prosecutors said Pearsall turned himself in Tuesday, June 23, on a $500,000 arrest warrant and was released by a judge on his own recognizance. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said Pearsall “used his position to spy on the men who worked for him” and shared intimate images of victims.
The investigation began in July 2025, when a sworn California State Park officer found a USB stick in the men’s employee locker room at the Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters. After reviewing the contents, which included videos of state employees undressing, California State Parks contacted the California Highway Patrol to investigate. Prosecutors said the USB stick contained a hidden camera. CHP investigators later concluded that Pearsall was responsible for placing hidden cameras in the locker room and that the devices recorded both audio and video from August 2024 through July 2025. Authorities have not said how many devices were recovered or whether investigators believe any recordings were made outside the locker room.
Prosecutors said 23 men were identified in the recordings. The men were filmed without consent while their genitals or buttocks were visible, according to the charges. The locker room was not open to the public, but it was accessible to full-time personnel, seasonal lifeguards, office staff, maintenance workers and park aides. Kimberly Edds, director of public affairs for the district attorney’s office, said the victims were “preyed on” in a place tied to their jobs. Authorities also allege Pearsall sent several photographs of nude or partially nude men to two other men and made sexually charged comments about employees’ bodies. The two men who allegedly received images have not been publicly charged in the case.
Pearsall worked for California State Parks from 1994 until his retirement in July 2025. Prosecutors said he served from 2023 through July 2025 as a superintendent in the Orange Coast District, a sworn law enforcement post overseeing management and operations of state parks in Orange County. That district includes heavily used state beaches where lifeguards, park aides and maintenance crews work through busy summer seasons. California State Parks placed Pearsall on administrative leave while he was under investigation, and he retired shortly after search warrants were served in the case. A department spokesperson said the agency takes the charges seriously and cooperated with law enforcement through the investigation.
The case is scheduled for arraignment Aug. 6 at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center in Westminster, where Pearsall could enter a plea. Senior Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Caughlin of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting the case. A defense attorney for Pearsall declined to comment after the charges were announced. Prosecutors have described the recordings as both visual and audio evidence, but they have not publicly released the images or videos. The district attorney’s office said the case remains active, and additional investigative details could be addressed in court filings or hearings as the prosecution moves forward.
The allegations shook a lifeguard workplace built around public safety and trust. At Bolsa Chica State Beach, lifeguards report to a headquarters steps from one of Orange County’s busiest stretches of coast. The same building that supported rescue work and beach operations became the focus of a criminal investigation after the hidden device was found. Spitzer said the victims “had their privacy violated” and said his office would seek justice. Edds said the case was especially disturbing because the victims were recorded while doing routine parts of their jobs, including changing clothes in a private work space.
Pearsall remains out of custody on his own recognizance. His next scheduled court date is Aug. 6 in Westminster, where the criminal case is expected to move into its first public hearing.
Author note: Last updated June 25, 2026.