LA promoter David Pearce, 39, arrested for deaths of model and her designer friend pleads not guilty to unrelated rape charges involving four other women
- David Pearce, 39, pleaded not guilty to rape charges involving four women
- The rapes allegedly took place in 2010, 2019, February 2020 and October 2020
- Comes after LA promoter arrested in December on suspicion of manslaughter
- He was arrested after deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola
- Women were last seen at an East Los Angeles warehouse party with Pearce
A Los Angeles party promoter arrested for the deaths of a model and her friend has pleaded not guilty to unrelated rape charges involving four women.
David Pearce, 39, was arrested by Los Angeles Police in December after allegedly sexually assaulting four women in 2010, 2019, February 2020 and October 2020.
He is now facing two counts of forcible rape, one count of raping an unconscious or asleep person, and one count of sexual penetration with a foreign object related to the alleged incidents.
The charges came as it emerged Pearce had been arrested on December 17 on suspicion of manslaughter, after the deaths of Christy Giles, 24, and her architect friend, Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, 26, who both died of drug overdoses.
The two women were last seen at an East Los Angeles warehouse party with Pearce and his friends in the early hours of November 13.
Ms Giles’ body was left outside a Los Angeles hospital on November 13, while Ms Cabrales-Arzola was found clinging to life at another hospital, where she died after two weeks in a coma.
On Monday, Pearce pleaded not guilty to the unrelated rape charges.
Los Angeles party promoter David Pearce, 39, was arrested on December 17 on suspicion of manslaughter
The Los Angeles party promoter was arrested after the deaths of Christy Giles (right), 24, and her architect friend, Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola (left), 26, who both died of drug overdoses
During the hearing on Monday, Deputy District Attorney Kristine Mariano said he believed Pearce ‘poses as a threat to the public’ and should remain behind bars.
He also pointed out that officers had found a passport, $30,000 in Pearce’s car and evidence that the LA promoter was researching about living in foreign countries when he was arrested.
The prosecutor told the hearing: ‘He frequently drugs women and sexually abuses them.
‘I do believe he poses as a threat to the public and is a flight risk. Upon his arrest, he did try to flee and ran out the back door.’
Last week Pearce’s defence attorney, Jacob Gluckman, asked that his client’s bail, which is currently set at $3.4million, be reduced to $100,000.
He also said the money found in the LA promoter’s car was his winnings from a trip to Las Vegas.
Mr Gluckman stressed that Pearce has not been charged with causing Ms Giles and Ms Cabrales-Arzola’s deaths.
He went on to complain that prosecutors had ‘dusted off old’ sexual assault allegations as a pretext to keep him locked up while they gathered evidence in the deaths of the two women.
Pearce (pictured left with Paris Hilton and right) is facing two counts of two counts of forcible rape, one count of raping an unconscious or asleep person, and one count of sexual penetration with a foreign object
Jan Cilliers, Giles’ husband (pictured together) has expressed frustration that no one has been held accountable for her death
Mr Gluckman said that his client’s bail should be proportionate to the charges he was currently facing ‘and not issues that, at this point, are pure speculation and media fodder.’
He also said the earlier sexual assault charges against Pearce were not reported until years later, while the later ones from 2020 had been rejected by the DA’s office due to a lack of evidence.
It came as Ms Giles’ husband, photographer Jan Ciliers, expressed frustration that no one had been held accountable for the death of his wife and her friend.
Mr Cilliers said he suspected the women were forced to take drugs, because neither would willingly take heroin, found in Ms Cabrales-Arzola’s system.
Los Angeles Police said in a statement: ‘It is believed that both women were given drugs and overdosed at a residence in the 8600 block of Olympic Boulevard in the city of Los Angeles.
‘Three suspects were identified and arrested with the assistance of the LAPD-FBI Fugitive Task Force and Metropolitan Division.’
Prosecutors have asked for further investigation involving the two other men, Michael Ansbach, 47, and Brandt Osborn, 42, whom police said were each booked on suspicion of being an accessory to manslaughter.
Osborn, a New York-born actor, was arrested on the set of NCIS: Los Angeles.
Anspach was released on $100,000 bond, while Osborn was freed without bond, his arrest converted to a detention.
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