RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — The criminal trial of Mercedes Carrera and her husband on multiple child sexual abuse charges, which was due to start today after years of delays, was postponed at the last minute after a hearing on Friday.
The new date scheduled is Jan. 17, but sources close to the case confirmed to XBIZ that it is likely it will be postponed again.
The last hearing for the case was held on Sept. 30, 2022, when the Oct. 3 date that had been set for the beginning of the jury trial was vacated and the clock postponed until today.
Carrera and her husband, Jason Whitney, were arrested after a police raid of their Rancho Cucamonga home on Feb. 1, 2019.
By the time they go to trial, they will have been in the county jail awaiting trial for almost four years, held initially without bail and later, after they had liquidated their assets and had no source of income due to their incarceration, with bail set at $2 million for each.
According to court documents, a trial readiness hearing was held on Friday and the parties made the decision to vacate the Jan. 9 date and postpone the trial.
XBIZ contacted Carrera’s lawyer, a private “conflict board attorney” appointed by the public defender’s office, who declined to comment.
For more of XBIZ’s coverage of the Mercedes Carrera case, click here.
