Learning he may have been captured nude or semi-nude by a hidden camera allegedly placed in an employee locker room by his California State Parks supervisor was “like getting punched in the stomach,” a former lifeguard recalled on Thursday morning.
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Little more than a week after Kevin Pearsall, a former state parks superintendent, was criminally charged in connection to the seemingly illegal and surreptitious recordings, two parks employees who were apparently recorded nude or semi-nude appeared alongside high-profile victim rights and discrimination attorney Gloria Allred in announcing a lawsuit newly filed in Orange County Superior Court.
Matthew Dawson — who began working for Pearsall as a lifeguard in 2014 and is now a park aide — described his visceral reaction to learning Pearsall may have recorded him without his knowledge.
“It was like getting punched in the stomach — there were no words,” Dawson said. “I couldn’t believe it. I couldn’t process what was happening.”
Dawson said Pearsall had urged employees to change in one specific locker room. At the time, Dawson said he considered it simply an eccentric request. That view changed when he learned at least one camera — apparently hidden in what looked like a USB stick — was discovered in that part of the state park facilities.
“Now I feel he was setting me up to undress on camera,” Dawson said. “I could feel my skin crawling.”
Richard Corey, a senior park aide, described learning that Pearsall may have recorded him nude or semi-nude as “the ultimate betrayal in trust.” Korey noted that Pearsall wasn’t just a high-level supervisor, he was also a sworn peace officer.
“He swore not only to protect the public, but also us, the employees,” Corey said. “He failed us, and that failure hurts. It hurts a lot.”
Corey, as well as his attorneys, said there were warning signs — which they did not specify — that higher-ups could have picked up on regarding Pearsall’s alleged actions.
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“That truth is going to come to light,” Corey said.
A third employee represented by Allred’s law firm was not present for the news conference.
At least three lawsuits — including the one from Allred’s firm — have been filed against Pearsall and the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The lawsuits collectively include at least five current or former state park employees who allege they were recorded by Pearsall against their will.
An attorney representing Pearsall in the criminal case declined to comment on Thursday. It wasn’t clear from court records if he is represented by another attorney in the civil cases
Pearsall, a 59-year-old Long Beach resident, has not yet entered a formal plea in the criminal case. He is facing five felony counts of eavesdropping and more than two dozen misdemeanor counts of secretly filming and unlawful dissemination of private recordings. Pearsall turned himself in after prosecutors obtained a warrant for his arrest, and has since been released on his own recognizance.
A California Highway Patrol investigation determined that 23 different men had their “genitals or buttocks” captured by the hidden camera without their knowledge, according to prosecutors. Pearsall is also accused of sending several of the photographs the camera captured of nude or semi-nude men to two other individuals.
Allred said her firm is still looking into whether the photographs were circulated further online.
Pearsall, in his most recent role, oversaw the entire Orange County District, which encompasses Huntington State Beach, Bolsa Chica State Beach, Corona Del Mar State Beach, Crystal Cove State Park, Doheny State Beach, San Clemente State Beach and San Onofre State Beach. He was placed on administrative leave after the discovery of the illicit recordings, and has since retired.
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