Oxygen Insider Exclusive!

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive videos, breaking news, sweepstakes, and more!

Sign Up for Free to View
Crime News Breaking News

Man Connected To Model Christy Giles' Death Wants $3.4 Million Bond Lowered For Unrelated Rape Charges

David Pearce’s attorney claims in a new motion that prosecutors “dusted off” old rape allegations against his client so they could keep him behind bars while they continue to investigate the deaths of Christy Giles and Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola.

By Jill Sederstrom
Suspect In Model's Death Is Charged With Sexual Assaults

A Los Angeles man arrested last month in connection with the death of model Christy Giles and her friend is hoping to reduce his $3.4 million bail on unrelated rape charges.

David Pearce, 39, was charged last month with two counts of forcible rape, rape of an unconscious or asleep person and sexual penetration by a foreign object for a string of alleged rapes dating back to 2010, according to a statement from the Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón.

Pearce and two other men were also arrested last month in connection with the November deaths of model Christy Giles and her friend Hilda Marcela Cabrales-Arzola, who were dumped at separate Los Angeles area hospitals, hours apart on Nov. 13, after allegedly going to an afterparty at Pearce’s townhome.

A group of masked men driving a Toyota Prius pulled up outside the Southern California Hospital in Culver City and dumped Giles’ lifeless body, according to The Los Angeles Times. A few hours later, Arzola was brought to Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles, where she spent more than 10 days in critical condition before she died on Nov. 24.

Christy Giles Instagram

"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," police said, according to Fox LA.

No charges have been filed in that case, but Pearce’s attorney Jacob Glucksman argued in a recent request to lower his bail that prosecutors “dusted off” old rape allegations against Pearce in an effort to keep the 39-year-old behind bars while they continue to investigate the circumstances around the women’s deaths.

“This case attracted media attention because of the very unfortunate death of two women who appeared to have died of drug overdoses in or around November, 2021,” Glucksman wrote in the motion obtained by The New York Post, which seeks a bail amount of $100,000. “The [decedents] died after apparently being in contact with the Defendant. The Court should note, however, that Mr.Pearce is not charged with any offenses related to this unfortunate incident.”

What Pearce has been charged with are a string of alleged sexual assaults dating back to 2010. Prosecutors have alleged that Pearce sexually assaulted a woman in August of 2010, raped a woman in February of 2019 and raped two other women in two separate incidents in 2020.

However, Glucksman wrote in his motion that the woman in the alleged 2010 incident didn’t report her attack to police until 2021 when she “saw something on Instagram that triggered her memory.”

The alleged victim in 2019, who doesn’t live in the United States, also didn’t report her attack until November, according to the court documents.

While addressing the allegations in 2020, Glucksman said the district attorney’s office had initially decided not to file any charges in those cases because of “problems of proof.”

“In fact, one complaining witness was recently interviewed and reiterated that her recollection of the alleged incident was ‘hazy,’” he wrote. “Moreover, there is little, if any, forensic evidence connecting the Defendant to these old alleged incidents, and on at least one alleged incident the complaining witness admittedly engaged in consensual sex with the Defendant.”

He requested Pearce’s bond be lowered to $100,000.

According to Glucksman, the $3.4 million bail is more than Pearce could afford as a freelance entertainment event planner. He also argued that Pearce’s pre-existing health conditions make jail a dangerous place for him as COVID continues to rage through the country and believes his client would be better served awaiting trial at home with a GPS monitoring device, according to the motion.

Pearce is scheduled to appear in court on Monday, according to court records.

The two other men arrested alongside Pearce, who had been at a Los Angeles warehouse party with Giles and Cabrales-Arzola, were released after no charges were filed.  

Read more about: