People v. Pierre CA4/2

BACKGROUND

In August 1997 a jury found defendant guilty of two counts of continuous sexual

abuse of a child under the age of 14. (§ 288.5.) The jury found defendant committed the

offenses against both victims by instilling fear of bodily injury or by force, violence,

duress, or menace. (§ 12033.066, subd. (a)(1).) The trial court imposed consecutive 16-

year sentences on each count, for an aggregate term of 32 years in state prison.

In November 2022, while still serving his sentence, defendant filed a motion he

captioned as seeking “A Finding [of] Factual Innocence” (all caps. omitted), specifying

his request for relief was “Pursuant to Penal Code section[s] 1485.55 and []851.8.” In the

motion, he enumerated with seven bullet points the evidence he claimed required a

1 All further statutory references are to the Penal Code unless otherwise indicated.

2 finding of factual innocence. He also stated he would present other “testimonies,”

including by “two judges on defendant[’s] behalf.” Defendant asserted he was entitled to

a declaration of factual innocence “especially with no medical DNA evidence” having

been presented against him. He closed his three-page motion…