A group of lifeguards who fear they were filmed naked inside the Huntington Beach locker room by the former parks chief described the horrific experience while announcing a lawsuit against the state Thursday.
Kevin Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, is accused of using hidden cameras to capture audio and video of workers undressing inside an employee locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach.
He is accused of taking and sharing intimate images of men over an 11-month period and then sharing some of them with other men, prosecutors said last week.
On Thursday, two of the alleged victims appeared at a news conference with high-powered attorney Gloria Allred to announce the lawsuit against the California Department of Parks and Recreation, which employed Pearsall as superintendent in Huntington Beach.
Mathew Dawson, who started working as a lifeguard in 2014, said the revelation of the secret recordings was "like getting punched in the gut." "I was getting ready for me to get naked on camera," Dawson said, calling it "the ultimate betrayal of trust." The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, was filed on behalf of alleged victims Dawson, Richard Corey, Nichola Petkus and an unidentified fourth person.
The lawsuit alleges sexual harassment, discrimination, and failure to prevent harassment and discrimination, all in violation of the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act.
Pearsall has been charged with five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another person and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful distribution of private recordings.
is accused of using hidden cameras to capture audio and video of workers undressing inside an employee locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach.
Kevin Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, is accused of using hidden cameras to capture audio and video of workers undressing inside an employee locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach.
He is accused of taking and sharing intimate images of men over an 11-month period and then sharing some of them with other men, prosecutors said last week.
On Thursday, two of the alleged victims appeared at a news conference with high-powered attorney Gloria Allred to announce the lawsuit against the California Department of Parks and Recreation, which employed Pearsall as superintendent in Huntington Beach.
Mathew Dawson, who started working as a lifeguard in 2014, said the revelation of the secret recordings was "like getting punched in the gut." "I was getting ready for me to get naked on camera," Dawson said, calling it "the ultimate betrayal of trust." The lawsuit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, was filed on behalf of alleged victims Dawson, Richard Corey, Nichola Petkus and an unidentified fourth person.
The lawsuit alleges sexual harassment, discrimination, and failure to prevent harassment and discrimination, all in violation of the state's Fair Employment and Housing Act.
Pearsall has been charged with five felony counts of eavesdropping, 23 misdemeanor counts of secretly filming another person and three misdemeanor counts of unlawful distribution of private recordings.
is accused of using hidden cameras to capture audio and video of workers undressing inside an employee locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach.
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