Crime & Safety

Mother Accused of Sexual Assault Admonished by Judge for Failing to Appear on Time

Patricia Serrano, 43, of Fountain Valley, will be sent to jail if she's late to her next appearance on July 20, Superior Court Judge Debra Carrillo said Friday.

Patricia Serrano, the Fountain Valley woman accused of sexually assaulting a friend of her 12-year-old son, will next appear in court at 8:30 a.m. on July 20 in Westminster.

If she doesn't, her next stop will be the Orange County Jail.

Serrano, 43, is charged with three felony counts of lewd conduct with a child and faces 12 years in prison if convicted. She's accused of having unlawful sex with the boy on two occasions in October—in her home and in a car.

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The preliminary hearing in Serrano's case was pushed back until July 20, but Superior Court Judge Debra Carrillo was clearly unhappy that Serrano was not in court when her case was first called. Serrano's attorney, Rodney Nosratabadi, spoke up in an attempt to take responsibility for his client's failure to appear on time, but Carrillo was not impressed.

"Attornies have cases all over the county at different times, so they have some freedom," Carrillo said. "You, on the other hand, are a defendant in a criminal case, and you're ordered to appear at 8:30 a.m., not just to stroll in whenever your attorney decides to come in. I don't have the time or the resources to babysit. I'm going to write in the file that if you're so much as five minutes late next time, you will be remanded into custody."

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