RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif.—A hearing in the child sex abuse case against adult performer Mercedes Carrera and her husband, Daemon Cins, that was supposed to take place in a Rancho Cucamonga courtroom on Wednesday morning has been postponed.
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Gilbert Ochoa granted the continuance when Nicola Fitzgerald, the attorney for Cins, declared herself “unavailable” to proceed. The judge set a new date of August 8 for Carrera and Cins to appear for the hearing.
"The District Attorney and I announced we were ready to do the preliminary hearing today," Carrera's defense lawyer, Joshua Castro, told AVN.com. "But the judge granted the request by Nicola Fitzgerald to continue."
Neither of the defendants appeared in the courtroom Wednesday, though attorneys told the judge that Carrera was present in the courthouse building. Both Carrera and Cins are being held on $2 million bail, as AVN.com reported last month.
The purpose of Thursday’s hearing, according to Castro, was for prosecutors to present evidence to a judge — evidence which they say will support charges against Carrera and Cins. Those charges include multiple counts of sexual penetration or oral copulation with a child 10 years old or younger, according to court documents posted online by San Bernardino County Superior Court. The charges against Carrera and Cins also include one count of sexual intercourse or sodomy with a child 10 or younger.
Both Carrera and Cins deny the charges and have entered pleas of not guilty.
