A 19-year-old swim instructor who faces multiple counts of child molestation involving two alleged victims in two different places was in court Wednesday, where the prosecution argued to combine the two cases.
In the first case, Nicholas Piazza is charged with one count of committing a lewd act upon a child, which allegedly happened on July 19, 2021, an incident that, according to a court document, allegedly took place at the Callan Swim School, in San Marcos. In the second case, Piazza is charged with two counts of forcible lewd act upon a child, an incident the sheriff's department alleges took place during a private swim lesson on Sept. 25, 2022. In that case, Piazza is also charged with contempt of court for disobeying a court order issued in the first case, in which he was instructed not to work where children were present. The order also said he "must not be in the presence of children unless another adult is present."
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WATCH HERE“It’s very difficult in child molestation cases when you only have a child’s word to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Deputy District Attorney Patricia Lavermicocca. “Now you have two children who don't know each other potentially, independently, saying the swim instructor has done something to them.”
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SIGN UP A court document shows an investigator advised the owner of Callan Swim School about the allegations in the first case, and the owner “agreed to pull Piazza out of the pool during the investigation.” According to the document, the investigator said he “received information that Nicholas was back in the pool as an instructor approximately a week later.”
“I don't even know what word to say," said Amy Moreno, a former employee of the Callan Swim School who said the school was aware of the issues with Piazza. "It's beyond appalling because, you know, there's an allegation out there that a child was harmed."
Piazza has hired a private attorney, who told NBC 7 that he just received the case and was not in a position to comment on the charges.
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Attorneys for the Callan Swim School in San Marcos said they could not discuss the matter further, given the ongoing criminal proceedings involving Piazza. But last week when NBC7 first covered the story, they issued this statement:
"It has come to our attention that a former swim instructor at Callan Swim School was recently charged with a crime. That instructor is not employed by CSS and was not employed by CSS at the time of that alleged incident. We would like to make it clear that, after teaching swimming lessons for over 60 years and being in the business of saving lives, CSS would never knowingly put any student in jeopardy in any capacity. CSS categorically denies any allegations that suggest anything to the contrary.”
If convicted of all charges in the two cases, Piazza faces a maximum of 18 years in prison.
