Plea Deal Falls Through in 'Spy Pen' Porn Case

SANTA CRUZ, CA -- is remorseful and embarrassed about the incident, his attorney said after a court appearance in Santa Cruz on Thursday afternoon.

Aldrin Jayson "A.J." Nicolas was in court to plead guilty, but the deal fell through at the last minute and the case moved closer to trial.

"We decided we could not do what we intended to do," defense attorney Mary Con said outside of court. "We were going to plead guilty."

Neither Con nor Assistant District Attorney Steve Moore spoke about what the possible plea deal involved, or why it failed.

Nicolas was arrested by sheriff's sex crimes investigators in April following complaints he had used what detectives described as a "spy pen" to film teenage female members of the Vivace Youth Chorus in a hotel bathroom during a weekend trip to Pajaro Dunes. The well-regarded Silicon Valley choir stayed at the beach resort west of Watsonville March 16-18, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Nicolas, then 26, was suspended from his position at the Vivace Youth Chorus and put on administrative leave from his job teaching choir at Salinas High School.

He was arrested on suspicion of producing child pornography and is free on bail. Thursday, he appeared in court in slacks and a white collared shirt. Two people, possibly his parents, sat behind him in the courtroom.

"Honestly, my client is very embarrassed," Con said. "He's very remorseful for the pain he caused."

Nicolas waived his right to a preliminary hearing Thursday. The hearing the time when the District Attorney's Office lays out its evidence in the case. He is due back in court Aug. 31 to set a trial date. Nicolas has pleaded not guilty.