Cal Lutheran bolsters security after alleged locker room peeping case

A spokeswoman for California Lutheran University says the women’s locker room where a man was allegedly caught peeping and committing lewd acts was not used by students and enhanced security measures should prevent similar incidents in the future.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department has filed a peeping and lewd conduct case against 39-year-old David Tenebaum with prosecutors, who will be asked to issue an arrest warrant if the man fails to answer a court summons for the misdemeanor charges.

Tenebaum was allegedly caught twice – once in May and again in June – inside the women’s locker room at the Gilbert Sports Arena, a sheriff’s official said, sparking a three-month investigation that culminated this week when detectives visited his home just a short distance from the campus.

Cal Lutheran has since bolstered security measures, university spokeswoman Karin Grennan said in an email. More security cameras were installed after the second incident and tighter access controls will be put in place.

“We are confident that the additional measures will be successful, but we plan to do more,” she said.

The suspect, Grennan said, was only able to enter because keycard access had been turned off to allow outside groups to use the facility. The university is now working on a plan that would provide outside groups with a temporary PIN number for access without leaving the facility unlocked. Student workers will also check IDs of anyone entering the facility after 6 p.m., she added.

Marty Luna of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said detectives received a tip from the public that led them to Tenebaum. But since the alleged misdemeanor crimes did not occur in the presence of authorities, they could only summon Tenebaum to court to answer to the allegations or face an arrest warrant, Luna said.

In the first incident, two women from a non-college swim group allegedly saw Tenebaum enter the locker room as they were using the shower stalls, Luna said. When the women asked what he was doing, Luna said, Tenebaum apologized but wouldn’t leave.

“He just kept apologizing as he was staring at them,” Luna said.

Tenebaum then appeared to have left, but as the women were leaving they noticed the man staring through a cracked open door and yelled, Luna said.

Three weeks later, a group of women, also not affiliated with the college, walked into the locker room and found Tenebaum allegedly committing lewd acts in the shower stall, Luna said.

As he attempted to leave the campus, Luna said, the two women from the May incident happened to walk up and identified him as the alleged peeper.

Police were called to the scene, but by the time officers arrived, Tenebaum had allegedly fled.

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jason.wells@latimes.com

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