Crime

A South Bay caregiver was sentenced this week to jail for stealing tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and other valuables from her elderly clients, according to a press release from the Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney’s Office.

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.

The Gilroy Fire Department and three other agencies responded to a three-alarm fire Saturday night within an apartment complex on the 400 block of Broadway Street in Gilroy, according to GFD Chief Alan Anderson.

Gilroy Police Officers responded to reports of a vehicle theft in progress at about 5:51 a.m. Saturday inside a mobile home complex, located at 500 W. 10th St.

The Gilroy Police Department arrested a 23-year-old Gilroy man Thursday who allegedly stabbed another man in a violent assault, according to a press release.

The saga of an 840-pound emerald - believed to be the world’s largest - continued in Los Angeles County Superior Court where Morgan Hill resident Anthony Thomas’ claim to the valuable rock was shut down this week, according to authorities.

The Gilroy Police Department responded to a variety of crimes last week, including participation in a criminal street gang, infliction of bodily injury on a spouse or cohabitant and robbery. The arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between Jan. 22 through 29.

A Gilroy man accused of luring a 13-year-old runaway girl into a life of “turning tricks” was more agitated Tuesday by a judge's mispronunciation of his name, rather than a slew of felony charges that include pimping, committing lewd acts with a child and human trafficking.

Police are looking for a man in a white work van who allegedly made unwelcome advances toward a 15-year-old girl who did not know him, according to a press release from Morgan Hill Police. The victim was walking home about 5:30 p.m. Saturday near the 16000 block of Monterey Road when a male subject exited a white van that was parked in the area where she was walking, police said. The man approached the girl and said, “Hey beautiful,” according to police. The girl became scared and ran away without being harmed by the suspect, the press release said. The man got back into his vehicle and fled the scene. The suspect is described as an Indian man in his 30s, 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes, according to police. The vehicle he was in is described as a white work van with black rims and tinted windows. Anyone with information about this incident can call Morgan Hill Police at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.