A Daubert hearing has been scheduled for July 10 to determine if an expert witness will be allowed to testify for the state against Pedro Noriega-Avila, who faces charges of sexual assault of a child and incest.
At a final pre-trial hearing June 24, defense attorneys Joe Furnstahl and James Schoenecker filed a motion to exclude the witness and thought the Daubert hearing would be that day, according to online court records. Daubert hearings are held whenever attorneys seek to exclude the presentation of unqualified evidence to the jury.
The Daubert hearing was set one week before a three-day trial scheduled to begin for Noriega-Avila, which begins at 3:15 p.m. July 17.
This is the second time a jury trial has been scheduled in Noriega-Avila’s case. He was originally scheduled to stand trial in August 2023 on one count of sexual assault of a child under age 13, two counts of sexual assault of a child and two counts of incest with a child by stepparent. The trial was halted after his attorney at the time Sara Stertz stepped down due to being in the late stages of pregnancy and disagreement with her client on defense strategies.
Since then, Noriega-Avila had been without representation. Court records show Schoenecker was appointed Jan. 4 to represent the defendant, followed by Furnstahl’s appointment on Feb. 1.
The criminal complaint states that Noriega-Avila allegedly went into the victim’s room between September 2009 and June 2010 and assaulted her. It goes on to say that additional incidents occurred in 2014 and 2015. Noriega-Avila married the victim’s mother on July 9, 2010.
Noriega-Avila initially appeared before Kussel on June 10, 2016, and subsequently posted a $5,000 cash bond. Noriega-Avila was then ordered to appear on June 20, 2016, but he did not show up. A warrant was issued for his arrest.
Noriega-Avila was missing from the court for almost five years until his arrest in Arizona in 2021. Law enforcement responded to a U.S. Border Patrol station on March 13, 2021, regarding the warrant issued by the Shawano-Menominee County Circuit Court for Noriega-Avila, and the defendant was already in custody when officers arrived.
In April 2021, extradition documents were issued by the county for Noriega-Avila, who was brought back to Shawano County in July 2021.
Noriega-Avila faces a maximum of 40 years in prison and a $100,000 fine for each of the incest counts and the latter two sexual assault counts. For the child sexual assault in 2010, he faces up to 60 years in prison.
Noriega-Avila remains in the Shawano County Jail on a $500,000 cash bond. He has been incarcerated for almost 3 years, mainly because of the difficulty in finding an attorney the first time around. It took until late 2022 before Stertz was found to handle the case.
During the June 24 hearing, both sides were warned that they would bear jury costs if a late resolution is reached the day that the trial begins.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Daubert hearing scheduled in Noriega-Avila case
