Man Gets New Trial in Child Molestation Case

A 44-year-old man who was convicted in 2011 of molesting a girl when he was living with a family in San Bruno will get a new trial, a judge ruled Monday.

In October, a of committing a lewd act with a child and committing oral copulation with a child. The charges stemmed from a 2008 incident in which Nichols allegedly molested a 7-year-old girl while he was renting a room from a woman in San Bruno.

Nichols was facing up to 25 years to life in prison.

But in a court hearing Monday, Superior Court Judge Clifford Cretan granted Nichols a new trial after determining that one of the jurors during the first trial failed to disclose her own experience with abuse as a child. The juror also had apparently discussed her childhood abuse with other jurors during the trial without the court's knowledge.

Cretan also determined that Nichols' previous attorney wasn't competent enough to handle the case.

The court is expected to set a new trial date on May 25.

Nichols' new attorney didn’t respond yet to a call for comment.

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