VISTA — The next court dates in the case of a swim instructor charged with molesting two children in San Marcos and Rancho Santa Fe have been continued to January to allow for continuing discovery, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office confirmed.
Nicholas Piazza, 19, faces one charge stemming from an incident in July 2021 and another from September 2022. While the trial related to the first charge was originally planned to begin at the end of this year, prosecutors are now aiming to combine the two cases into one trial.
“Before you can combine cases, you have to complete the preliminary hearing, then you can make a motion to combine,” said Deputy District Attorney Isaac Jackson. “I believe the people will request to combine the cases.”
A readiness hearing for both cases, initially scheduled for Dec. 6 at the Superior Court North County Division in Vista, has been continued to Jan. 10. A preliminary hearing will then take place on Jan. 24. At that time, the two cases could be combined, and a trial date could be set.
In the meantime, the Sheriff’s Department is continuing its investigation into Piazza and seeking out any potential additional victims he may have.
Jackson did not confirm whether any additional victims have come forward but said no new charges had been filed against Piazza as of this week.
Piazza was working as a swim instructor at Callan Swim School in San Marcos when he faced charges for sexually abusing a 6-year-old student in 2021. He was arrested but released on bail that fall and was prohibited from working around children.
Piazza then began conducting private swim lessons in the summer of 2022, and it was during this time he allegedly molested another victim, age 7. Piazza was arrested again in September and is currently being held without bail at the Vista Detention Facility.
Anyone whose child may have been abused by Piazza is urged to contact the Sheriff’s Child Abuse Unit at 858-285-6293. Individuals can also anonymously contact Crime Stoppers at 888-580-8477.
For the latest local crime reports, please visit The Coast News’ Weekly Crime Reports. For up-to-the-minute arrest reports in North County, check out Daily Arrest Logs. Read more local crime news here.
