The trial for the YMCA employee accused of sexually assaulting children under his care at a Morgan Hill facility in July 2013 is expected to start next week, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Tim McInerny.
Nicolas Lhermine, 22 of Morgan Hill, faces 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. He remains in custody awaiting a jury trial, and could be sentenced to life in prison if found guilty.
Jury selection took place last week at the Morgan Hill Courthouse on Diana Avenue last week, McInerny said. He expects the trial to begin with opening statements at the same courthouse Monday, Aug. 31.
Lhermine is accused of assaulting the children at a daycare center run by the YMCA on the campus of Paradise Valley Elementary School in southwest Morgan Hill, according to authorities. He was arrested by Morgan Hill police July 12, 2013, and authorities think he victimized the children in the preceding weeks.
The oldest child was 7 at the time of the assault, according to authorities.
A fifth alleged victim in the wide-ranging case 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.
Police arrested Lhermine after a 6-year-old girl under his care at the YMCA program told her parents and investigators that he forced her to engage in inappropriate contact in the bathroom of the daycare site, authorities said. During the initial investigation, police found the pictures of the 17-year-old girl.
During a follow-up investigation, authorities identified three more alleged female victims—ages 3, 5 and 7 at the time of the incidents, police said. That investigation included assistance from YMCA staff who reached out to the parents of all children who had ever been under Lhermine’s care at the YMCA.
The suspect worked as a childcare aide at the YMCA day care facility during the alleged assaults and has held numerous positions—including youth soccer coach—in his four years of employment at the YMCA, according to authorities.
