Man accused of peeping, lewd conduct in Cal Lutheran locker room

A 39-year-old Thousands Oaks man faces charges of lewd conduct and peeping in the women’s locker room at California Lutheran University, authorities said Thursday.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department has filed its case against 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, Det. Marty Luna said.

The case comes after Tenebaum allegedly gave incriminating statements to Ventura County sheriff’s detectives following a three-month investigation that started after Thousands Oaks police received two calls -- one in May, the other in June -- regarding a man seen entering the women’s locker room at the Gilbert Sports Arena.

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. 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 out, 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.

The women fled and notified a nearby coaching staff member, who ran back into the locker room, only to find it empty. Staff members then ran to the men’s locker room, where they reported finding Tenebaum in a restroom stall.

When he emerged, they quizzed him about his previous whereabouts as he attempted to leave the campus, Luna said. That’s when 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.

Three months later, after the sheriff’s department issued a news alert and surveillance images, Luna said detectives received a tip from the public that led them to Tenebaum.

But since the alleged misdemeanor crimes did not occur in their presence, they could only summon Tenebaum to court to answer to the allegations or face an arrest warrant, Luna said.

Since the incident, campus officials have bolstered security measures for the sports arena lockers by requiring users to have key cards to gain access. Additional video cameras have also been installed, Luna said.

A spokeswoman for the university could not immediately be reached.

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jason.wells@latimes.com

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