SARASOTA, Fla. ( WWSB ) - A Venice man who has spent nearly six years in prison is preparing for a new trial after a Sarasota County judge threw out his child molestation conviction due to ineffective counsel, court records show.

Nicky Pasquale was convicted in February 2018 of molesting a girl who had been invited to his home for his daughter’s birthday party.

During the trial, the jury also heard from the victim’s 14-year-old cousin, who said Pasquale touched her inappropriately a year earlier.

Pasquale was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The conviction was upheld by the Second District Court of Appeal in August 2021.

But in January 2023, Pasquale filed a motion for relief to overturn his conviction, arguing his lawyer, Steven S. Michaels of Bradenton, made fundamental errors that

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