Man convicted of molesting boy in bathroom

A Laguna Beach man was convicted Friday of molesting a 5-year-old boy, according to a news release from the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Nicholas James Needham, 28, a registered sex offender, pleaded guilty to one felony count of lewd acts on a child younger than 14.

On June 15, 2010, Needham went into a men’s restroom at the The Block at Orange, now called the Outlets at Orange, where the young boy was using a urinal, according to the news release. Needham approached the victim, touched the boy’s penis and then fled the scene.

The boy told his mother about the assault, and the Orange Police Department launched an investigation.

The district attorney’s office has also filed charges against Needham in a separate case for possession of child pornography, which is currently being prosecuted.

—Kelly Parker

Twitter: @KellyParkerTCN