Jose Carlos Fajardo/staff archives In a decision that judges across the state can use for guidance in similar cases, a California appeals court sided against the Contra Costa Superior Court, seen above at the Wakefield Taylor Courthouse in Martinez, and in favor of a defendant who contended that his right to a speedy preliminary hearing was denied last March during the COVID-19 statewide shutdown of the courts system.
MARTINEZ — Nicholas Moseby appeared in court on Friday for a preliminary hearing in which a detective for the first time publicly outlined the circumstances and evidence behind six child molestation-related criminal charges the former Danville teacher and cheer coach is facing.
Moseby, who has been in custody since his September arrest, entered the Contra Costa courtroom dressed in a lime green jail jumpsuit and shackles, appearing upbeat and sharing a smile with family members seated in the gallery. But his demeanor changed and at times he became visibly upset as District Attorney Senior Inspector Darryl Holcombe testified about his interviews with Moseby’s alleged victims, all teenage girls.
Moseby is facing charges of child molestation, sending a lewd video to a girl, sexual battery and felony counts of lewd acts upon a child.
At the start of the preliminary hearing on Friday, Holcombe testified that the first victim was a freshman at Danville’s Monte Vista High School where she was planning to try out for the cheer team when she met Moseby. Moseby worked as the MVHS assistant cheer coach during the spring 2022 semester, the San Ramon Valley Unified School District has previously confirmed to this news organization.
The victim, 15 at the time, began taking lessons with Moseby at Nor*Cal Elites, a private cheer organization in San Ramon. Soon after, she received an unexpected Snapchat request from an unknown user and decided not to accept it. However, she later learned that requester was Moseby when, during a cheer lesson, he asked her why she had not added him back yet, Holcombe testified.
Snapchat records obtained by the DA inspector showed that Moseby initially began their online communication by sending pictures of his dogs. But things soon escalated with Moseby, 41, allegedly asking the teen girl what she was wearing. He eventually sent her a video of himself masturbating, the investigator said on the witness stand.
“She was upset, disgusted,” Holcombe said, recounting what the alleged victim said in her interview with him.
Holcombe also said that the alleged victim recounted times where Moseby would hold and rub her butt before she would perform a stunt. The placement of his hand and the movement is what concerned her the most, he said.
“As she was was telling me about where Mr. Moseby’s hand was, she was composed,” Holcombe testified. “When I asked her this specific question about what he was doing with his hand at the time and as she was describing that he was moving up and down, she began to cry. So I stopped the interview to give her a moment.”
Holcombe also revealed that he interviewed two of Moseby’s former cheer clients, who are now adults. One woman told investigators that when she was 17 years old and taking lessons with Moseby at Nor*Cal Elite he allegedly would ask her for “nudes” on Snapchat. The woman never fulfilled his requests, according to Holcombe, but she added that, “this is just what Nick does, this is just what he is like.”
A search of Moseby’s laptop and cell phone showed an internet search history for porn that included keywords of “teacher,” “cheerleader” and “young girls,” Holcombe said.
Moseby’s public defender, Manisha Daryani, on Friday attempted to make a case that a lewd video Moseby allegedly sent to the teen girl could have happened accidentally due to the nature of the social media app and the fact he was also messaging adults around the same time. The public defender also questioned why investigators had not yet looked into whether times the alleged crimes occurred matched up with the victims’ scheduled lessons.
Those statements came during Daryani’s brief cross-examination of Holcombe on Friday afternoon before the end of the court day. The public defender is expected to continue her cross-examination on Monday, when the preliminary hearing resumes. At the conclusion, Judge John C. Cope will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to move the case to trial.
Moseby, of Concord, remains in custody at the Martinez Detention Facility on $300,000 bail.
Originally published at Rachel Heimann Mercader