Parks superintendent used hidden camera to film naked employees, prosecutors allege

Editor’s note: This story contains allegations of nonconsensual filming.

The Orange County District Attorney’s office charged a former California State Parks superintendent with illegally recording colleagues in an employee locker room.

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On Wednesday, authorities charged 59-year-old Kevin Pearsall with five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 counts of misdemeanor secret filming of another and three counts of unlawful dissemination of private recordings, . Pearsall turned himself in on Tuesday and was released on his own recognizance. His attorney, Scott Thomas, declined to comment when reached by phone Wednesday.

In an apparent mishap by the Orange County Superior Court system, Pearsall’s arrest warrant was erroneously publicly filed before he was arrested, according to district attorney spokesperson Kimberly Edds, which is allegedly how he found out he was charged. While Pearsall turned himself in without incident and the docket is now sealed, Edds said this was “exactly what wasn’t supposed to happen,” as Pearsall is a former law enforcement officer with access to firearms.

It’s the type of procedural error that’s had unfortunate consequences in Orange County’s past. In 2008, an on-duty Orange County sheriff’s deputy died by suicide after he found out authorities were planning to arrest him on suspicion of allegedly molesting a child at a community center where he volunteered. 

Orange County Superior Court spokesperson Kostas Kalaitzidis declined to comment, citing the court’s ethics rules against discussing ongoing cases.

As of publication, the court has not yet unsealed Pearsall’s docket. 

Pearsall worked for California State Parks beginning in 1994 and retired last year after being put on administrative leave while under investigation. He served as the Orange Coast District superintendent from 2023 to 2025, which is a sworn law enforcement position.

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In July 2025, another officer discovered a USB stick in a men’s employee locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters, which is not accessible to the public. Prosecutors allege the stick contained footage spanning between August 2024 and July 2025. They found at least 23 men with their genitals exposed who said they did not give permission for Pearsall to film them. Pearsall allegedly made comments about the men and distributed the recorded material to two other men.

Pearsall is set to be arraigned on Aug. 6 at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center in Westminster. He faces up to 18 years and eight months if convicted. 

“Instead of protecting his employees, Pearsall used his position to spy on the men who worked for him while they were in the place where they should have been the safest and then share those intimate images of his victims,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer in a statement. “These victims had their privacy violated in such a disgusting way, and we will do everything we can to ensure they receive the justice they deserve.”