Crime

A hearing for the Morgan Hill man accused of sexually assaulting multiple small children under his care at a YMCA facility was continued Tuesday at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill. Nicolas Lhermine, 20, appeared at the hearing wearing handcuffs and an inmate’s jumpsuit. He remains in custody at Santa Clara County Jail without bail on charges of lewd and lascivious acts with a child younger than 12, oral copulation on a child younger than 10, possession of child pornography and production of child pornography. All the charges are related to five victims identified since his arrest in July, according to authorities. Lhermine is accused of making inappropriate sexual contact with or taking illegal obscene photographs of the victims. Judge Alfonso Fernandez set Lhermine’s next hearing for 9 a.m. March 7 at South County Courthouse.Four of the alleged child victims were age 7 or younger at the time of the assaults - which occurred last summer - and were victimized by Lhermine while they were under his care a child care program at Paradise Valley Elementary School, according to investigators. The child care program was operated by the YMCA, for whom Lhermine worked for four years before his arrest. The youngest of the victims is 3 years old, authorities said. The fifth alleged victim is a 17-year-old girl of whom investigators found nude pictures on Lhermine’s mobile phone, according to police. The girl was not affiliated with the YMCA program, but Lhermine knew her. Lhermine was arrested by Morgan Hill police July 12, when a 6-year-old girl under his care at the YMCA program told her parents and investigators that Lhermine forced her to engage in a sex act in the bathroom at the day care site, authorities said. During the initial investigation, police found the pictures of the 17-year-old girl on his phone. During a follow-up investigation which included assistance from YMCA staff to reach out to the parents of all children who had ever been under Lhermine’s care at the YMCA, authorities identified three more alleged female victims - ages 3, 5 and 7. Lhermine faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to authorities.The suspect worked as a child care aide at the YMCA day care facility during the alleged assaults, and has held numerous positions - including youth soccer coach and child care at other YMCA facilities - in his four years of employment at the YMCA, according to authorities.

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A story from South Valley Newspapers archives helped lead to

2020 wasn't just about one deadly virus for some. Across California, Asian Americans and other minority groups also faced an epidemic of hate, as revealed by the state's Department of Justice in a specialized report Wednesday.  Attorney General Rob Bonta presented a report on anti-Asian...