Kevin Pearsall, 59, of Long Beach, entered a not guilty plea on September 21, 2026 — resolving the previously unverified claim that he had pleaded not guilty. He appeared in court and contested all 31 counts filed by the Orange County District Attorney. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for December 1, 2026. Pearsall had previously been continued on his own recognizance.

The OC DA 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 — 31 counts in total. Prosecutors count 23 lifeguards and other workers as victims. According to the September 21 arraignment report, the case centers on a hidden-camera USB device discovered in July 2025 in the men's employee locker room at Bolsa Chica State Beach Lifeguard Headquarters. The criminal charge filing covers alleged conduct from August 2024 through July 2025.

If convicted on all counts, Pearsall faces a maximum of 18 years and 8 months.

A civil-side investigator told attorney Ron Zambrano that the conduct may date back to 2019; this remains unverified and is not reflected in the filed criminal charges. The Orange County DA's office spokesperson Kimberly Edds has stated that no illegal images of underage victims have been recovered, and the criminal counts do not allege that any minor was filmed.

Civil plaintiffs numbered at least 36 as of the OC Register's September 3 report — the Register's headline cited 31 men, while its own arithmetic (15 earlier plaintiffs plus 21 added across late August and early September) yields at least 36. Active civil firms include Gloria Allred (first civil suit filed), Manly, Stewart, Finaldi & Thom, and the firms of Bijan Darvish and Jason Erlich. Attorney Ron Zambrano filed in June 2026. Attorney Mark Peacock previously represented seven plaintiffs, at least four of whom were alleged to have been underage when filmed — a characterization the DA's office has not adopted in the criminal filing.

The California Highway Patrol conducted the investigation underlying the criminal charges. Pearsall is no longer employed by California State Parks. No additional law-enforcement agencies have been publicly named as co-investigators. California State Parks has not issued a formal public statement regarding internal oversight or policy changes based on available evidence.

Key developments: the December 1 pretrial hearing, any preliminary hearing scheduling, further civil filings, and whether investigators formally expand the alleged timeframe to 2019 in amended charges.