Authorities are looking for other young victims of Nicholas James Needham, a 27-year-old registered sex offender who used to reside in Laguna Beach but most recently was living, working and–according to authorities–molesting in Orange, where he allegedly reached over a public restroom urinal to touch a 5-year-old boy's penis.
Needham faced an arraignment hearing this morning on one felony count each of lewd acts on a child under 14 and possession and control of child pornography. After he was arrested for the molestation–which allegedly occurred as the boy's mother waited outside the Block of Orange restroom, a search of Needham's home uncovered thousands of photographs and three videos of child pornography, mostly on his iPod and featuring young boys from infancy to early teens, according to prosecutors.
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The Orange County District Attorney's Office statement on today's arraignment follows:
October 21, 2010
SEX OFFENDER TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR MOLESTING 5-YEAR-OLD BOY IN PUBLIC
RESTROOM AND POSSESSING THOUSANDS OF IMAGES OF AMATEUR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY
*Law enforcement is seeking the public's help in identifying potential additional victims
SANTA ANA – Law enforcement is seeking the public's help in identifying
potential additional victims of a registered sex offender charged with
molesting a 5-year-old boy in a public restroom and possessing thousands
of images of graphic, amateur child pornography. Nicholas James
Needham, 27, Laguna Beach, is charged with one felony count each of lewd
acts on a child under 14 and possession and control of child
pornography. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of eight years
and eight months in state prison. Needham is out of custody on $250,000
bail. The People will be requesting his bail be increased to $500,000 at
Needham's arraignment tomorrow, Friday, Oct. 22, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. in
Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.At approximately 12:45 p.m. on June 15, 2010, Needham is accused of
entering a men's restroom at the Block at Orange. A 5-year-old boy, John
Doe, was using the urinal while his mother waited outside. Needham is
accused of standing next to the victim, whom he did not know, reaching
over, and touching the victim's penis. The defendant then left the
scene.John Doe disclosed the sexual assault to his mother, who contacted the
Orange Police Department (OPD), who investigated the case.During a subsequent search of the defendant's home, OPD officers
discovered thousands of photographs and three videos of child
pornography. Needham is accused of possessing graphic and explicit child
pornography on his iPod predominantly featuring young boys from infancy
to early teens. The photographs and videos appear to be non-commercial,
amateur images. The children in the photographs and videos have yet to
be identified and the investigation is ongoing.Anyone with additional information or who believes they have been a
victim is encouraged to contact OPD Detective
Leslie Franco at (714)
744-7572 or Supervising District Attorney Investigator Randy Litwin at
(714) 347-8794.Deputy District Attorney
Jess Rodriguez of the Sexual Assault Unit is prosecuting this case.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.