Sentencing postponed in molester case

-- Deepa Bharath

Sentencing for convicted molester Thomas Michael Murphy was postponed

from Friday to March 8 in Santa Ana.

Murphy, 54, a former Balboa Island resident, is in jail after he was

found guilty Nov. 8 of touching three young girls inappropriately and

possessing a large volume of child pornography.

Superior Court Judge Frank Fasel agreed Friday to postpone the hearing

at the defense team’s request. Defense attorneys said they needed the

time to review the probation report and to have Murphy evaluated by a

psychiatrist.

“We thought we would like to have him evaluated so the judge has that

information during sentencing,” defense attorney Loren Nizinski said.

It’s difficult to set up a time to do the evaluation because Murphy

is in custody, he added.

Murphy faces life in prison. His fate will be determined by Fasel

during the March 8 sentencing.

Murphy was found guilty of four felony counts of lewd act with a child

younger than 14 years of age and one misdemeanor count of possessing

child pornography. Each of the felony counts includes an enhancement that

states Murphy committed the crimes with the intent of gratifying his

sexual desires.

Newport Beach police arrested the former self-employed scuba

instructor on May 2, 2000, after seizing about 10,000 photographs and 200

movies from his computer at his Ruby Avenue home. Two girls aged 9 and an

11-year-old came forward with the allegations.

The victims’ families have also filed a civil suit against Murphy.