Briefly in the news

-- Deepa Bharath

A pretrial hearing has been set for April 27 in the case of Thomas

Michael Murphy, a Newport Beach man accused of child molestation.

Murphy, 53, was charged last May with six counts of lewd acts with a

minor and one count of possession of child pornography. He is accused of

inappropriately touching three girls and showing them pornographic

material. Officials said Murphy started befriending the girls almost six

months before his arrest, inviting them for ice cream and other outings.

Authorities arrested Murphy on May 2 at his Ruby Avenue home following

an investigation into the allegations. Murphy was released from Orange

County Jail a few days later after posting $250,000 bail. According to

his attorney, he has since moved away from Ruby Avenue, but continues to

live in Newport Beach.

The trial could begin as early as May, officials said.