Victims file lawsuit against California State Parks, former superintendent for alleged sexual harassment
Three alleged victims have filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Parks and Recreation and a former state parks superintendent who is accused of filming male employees in the nude while they changed in a locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters in Huntington Beach.
At a news conference on Thursday morning, Gloria Allred and John West said they have filed the lawsuit on behalf of Richard Corey, Matthew Dawson and Nicholas Petkas, who are current and former employees of the California Department of Parks and Recreation. The men believe they were filmed without their knowledge by former Superintendent Kevin Pearsall.
The lawsuit alleges that Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, placed at least one or more concealed devices and recorded employees while they were nude or semi-nude. It also alleges that Pearsall transmitted the recordings to at least two other individuals.
The lawsuit accuses the department and Pearsall of sexual harassment, gender discrimination and failure to prevent discrimination and harassment.
"We believe that the California Dept of Parks and Recreation had a duty to protect our clients from this extreme and outrageous secret filming of their genitals and other private body parts," Allred said. "Failure to comply with their legal responsibilities towards their employees has resulted in the harm that our clients are experiencing today."
In response to the lawsuit, California State Parks said it does not comment on pending litigation.
The Orange County District Attorney has charged Pearsall with five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another person and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful dissemination of private recordings.
According to prosecutors, a sworn California State Park officer found a USB stick in the men's employee locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters in July 2025. The officer reviewed the contents of the USB drive and found videos of state employees undressing in the locker room, which was open only to staff, including lifeguards, office workers, maintenance and park employees.
At the time charges were filed against Pearsall, California State Parks said it takes the allegations seriously and has fully cooperated with law enforcement and will do so through the investigation.
"State Parks values having a safe workplace where all staff feel welcome and respected," the department said. "State Parks is offering employee assistance and victim support services to our Orange Coast District staff and expresses our heartfelt sympathy to the victims and everyone impacted by these allegations."
Dawson said that when management told them what Pearsall had allegedly done, it felt like "getting punched in the stomach." Corey described it as "the ultimate betrayal of trust."
The lawsuit also alleges that the plaintiffs were not notified by Bolsa Chica or law enforcement officials that the recordings were taken in the men's locker room until or about June 24, 2026.
Pearsall was employed by California State Parks starting in 1994. He served as superintendent, a sworn law enforcement position, from 2023 to July 2025. He was placed on administrative leave while the investigation took place, and he promptly retired during that time frame.
Pearsall faces a maximum sentence of 18 years and eight months if convicted of all counts.
