Jonathan Fidone, the Hollister man convicted of molesting a 19-month-old child, will be sentenced Thursday after a judge ruled against his motion for a new trial.
The sentencing will come a week after visiting Judge Alfonso Fernandez denied the motion from Fidone’s attorney, Art Cantu, for a new trial based on accusations of juror misconduct. Fernandez ruled that the accused juror was not biased against the defendant, according to court records.
A San Benito County jury in July 2011 found Fidone, then 22, guilty of felony counts of sexual penetration by a foreign object, forcible lewd act upon a child and aggravated sexual assault of a child, after a five-day trial.
He faces 15 years to life in prison for one charge alone, aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Fidone was arrested July 17, 2010, after a witness saw him in a locked bedroom with the child. After breaking down the door, the witness saw Fidone performing lewd acts with the child.
During the trial, the jury heard testimony from four Hollister officers, a nurse and two forensic science technicians from the California Department of Justice. Other testimony included the witness and the child’s mother. Hospital records, pictures and blood evidence also were used.
