Nicholas James Needham, Guilty of Touching Boy's Penis, Still Faces Count for Child Porn on iPod

​A registered sex offender pleaded guilty to molesting a then-5-year-old boy who was using a urinal at the Block of Orange in June 2010 while his mother waited outside the restroom. Nicholas James Needham, who'd recently moved to Orange from Laguna Beach at the time of his arrest, copped to one felony count of lewd acts on a child under 14 and is expected to be sentenced to six years in state prison at his sentencing in March. But this is just one of the cases against the 28-year-old creeper.

The afternoon of June 15, 2010, Needham walked into a men's restroom at the Block, which has since been renamed the Outlets at Orange, cozied up next to the unidentified 5-year-old he did not know, reached over and touched the boy's penis. Needham left the restroom and the boy immediately told his mother what happened. That led to an Orange Police Department investigation that culminated with Needham's arrest.

A search of Needham's residence produced an iPod containing thousands of images and three videos of pornography featuring children from infancy through early teens. Apparently there is an app for that. The crude nature of the photos--they were not professionally shot--and Needham's obvious inability to keep his hands to himself led police and prosecutors to put out a call for other possible victims.

He was also originally charged in Orange County Superior Court with possessing child pornography, but that case has been taken over by the U.S. Attorney's office. If convicted in federal court, the punishment will likely be harsher than had he been tried in state court.

Needham, who pleaded guilty to the molestation rap Friday, is scheduled to be sentenced March 5 in Santa Ana.

Previous coverage:

• Nicholas James Needham, Up on Molesting 5-Year-Old Boy, May Have Harmed Others