A erstwhile gymnastics manager accused of groping 2 children appeared successful tribunal wherever a justice acceptable his bail astatine $40,000 Thursday greeting and ordered him to person nary interaction with children if helium is released.
Defense lawyer Craig Hendricks questioned the merits of the grounds against Michael Nestor, 21.
Hendricks noted that Nestor has nary anterior transgression past and spoke with Metropolitan Police Department investigators without an lawyer aft they sought to question him astir the allegations.
“He went successful and said absolutely, ‘I did not bash those things,’” Hendricks told Justice of the Peace Diana Sullivan. “That is real, existent clear. He did not marque immoderate admissions to doing thing wrong. He afloat cooperated.”
Nestor is charged with 2 counts each of first-degree kidnapping of a insignificant and 2 counts of lewdness with a kid nether 14.
Nestor was arrested aft constabulary said 2 boys who be the Go For It USA gymnastics studio, located adjacent North Rancho Drive and West Craig Road, accused him of squeezing their buttocks astatine the facility. Nestor has since been fired. Go For It USA said successful a connection it has “zero tolerance for inappropriate, unsafe oregon abusive conduct.”
Police said a kid told investigators Nestor gave the lad a lollipop successful the studio’s restroom aft Nestor offered it to him if the lad washed his hands portion astatine gymnastics campy connected June 17. While the lad licked the lollipop, Nestor “crouched down and squeezed and slapped his butt lightly implicit his clothes,” according to a constabulary report.
The lad told constabulary Nestor touched his butt for astir 10 seconds.
The kid said helium hid successful a bath stall but struggled to permission due to the fact that Nestor was blocking his exit, constabulary said.
The lad yet ran retired of the restroom, past told his sister and person astir the incident, and his person said it happened to him, too, according to police. The 2nd kid told an interviewer that Nestor had squeezed his buttocks portion helium was washing his hands. He said Nestor stopped touching him erstwhile different idiosyncratic walked into the bathroom, according to the report.
A 2021 kid protective services study against Nestor alleged helium had touched a friend’s genitals erstwhile helium was 16, according to the report. Nestor told constabulary the incidental was “determined to beryllium boys exploring.”
In tribunal Thursday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Megan Thompson asked for a $350,000 bail. She described the allegations against Nestor arsenic “extremely troubling.”
“We person 2 insignificant victims, akin MOs,” she said, referencing the Latin operation modus operandi, oregon method of operation.
Video surveillance, Thompson said, shows the archetypal lad and Nestor entering the restroom astir the aforesaid time. Thompson said the video besides shows the lad moving retired of the restroom.
Nestor was adamant successful a constabulary interrogation that helium did thing wrong, saying helium was shocked by the allegations. He said 1 of the children had behavioral issues and was disrespectful and that the boy’s parent did not similar the mode helium coached.
He confirmed helium was successful a installation bath astatine the aforesaid clip of 1 of his accusers, and that helium did person a lolipop, but helium said he’d gone into the bath due to the fact that helium had an upset tummy and that the lolipop was helping to soothe the ailment.
Hendricks questioned the accuracy of the accusers’ accounts.
“When these allegations came up and they were talking with the alleged victim’s begetter you cognize what helium said?” Hendricks said. “He figured his kid exaggerated due to the fact that helium tends to bash that.”
Hendricks said the 2nd accuser’s parent initially “dismissed his disclosure, assumed helium was mistaken and did not judge it happened.”
In mounting the bail, Sullivan noted Nestor’s deficiency of a transgression past and his quality to enactment with his parents successful Las Vegas pending the result of his case.
“I bash not judge this is simply a lawsuit wherever a detention bid is necessary,” Sullivan said.
She added the charges are superior and that a monetary bail needed to beryllium set. She besides ordered Nestor to surrender his passport, person nary interaction with children, to unrecorded with his parents, and to beryllium nether high-level physics monitoring.
Contact Glenn Puit astatine gpuit@reviewjournal.com.
English (US)·