Hollywood Producer Convicted of Sex Crimes Gets 146 Years to Life
A harsh sentence was given to convicted felon David Brian Pearce this past Wednesday at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center in Los Angeles County. Pearce, a self-proclaimed Hollywood producer, was convicted earlier this year of crimes involving the fatal drugging of a model and her companion in 2021. As per an Orange County sexual-assault lawyer, the state prison sentence handed down to 42-year-old Pearce was 146 years to life. Jurors heard testimony including how Pearce used drugs on his victims to facilitate the sexual battery. The prosecutor referred to Pearce as a rapist, but was also quick to call him a murderer, since both women died from an overdose of fentanyl. Christy Giles, 24 years old, and Hilda Cabrales Arzola, 26, who was Giles’s architect friend, both failed to regain consciousness after being drugged by Pearce.
Peace’s Prior Convictions Span Fourteen Years and Involve Seven Women
According to a sexual-assault attorney in Fullerton, Pearce had numerous previous convictions between 2007 and 2021, during which at least seven other women were victims of sexual assault or rape at Pearce’s hands. The latter was ordered to register as a sex offender for life due to the severity of the sex crimes of which he was convicted. However, victim-rights lawyers are likely hoping he will never be free again regardless of the order to register.
Sketchy Background in Producing and Directing
According to a victims’ rights lawyer, Pearce is a serial rapist with a sketchy background, and LA district attorney Nathan Hochman referred to him as a “supposed producer and self-proclaimed entertainment professional” who had no verifiable production credits at the time of his conviction. However, Pearce appears to have a background in the business, and did at one time pursue an acting major which he later changed to film. He directed a documentary with Jay Leno, the comedic icon, but never became well known as a filmmaker, producer, or movie director.
Women Attempted to Leave Pearce’s Residence Shortly After Arriving
Evidence was produced at trial that within 35 minutes of arriving at Pearce’s residence, Cabrales-Arzola contacted a rideshare service on her cellphone, which appeared to indicate that the women had ultimately changed their minds about spending time with Pearce. However, cameras revealed that Pearce eventually carried Giles from his apartment approximately eleven hours after Cabrales-Arzola’s phone call. Giles died less than two hours later. Cabrales-Arzola Survived less than two weeks and passed away the day before what would have been her 27th birthday. The women were dropped off outside two different local hospitals.
Drug-Aided Sexual Battery Common Activity for Pearce
After a long investigation, it was discovered that the Hollywood man had participated in various drug-aided sexual assaults and rapes, and, in addition to the two now-deceased victims, seven others testified against Pearce at the trial earlier this year. Lauren Craven, a heroic, 25-year-old police officer, was also a victim of Pearce’s predatory behavior. Sadly, she lost her life assisting car crash victims several days before Pearce’s sentencing.
In Feb. 2025, Pearce’s co-defendant, Brant Osborn, was also tried for several counts of accessory to murder after the fact, but that trial ended with a hung jury. In a new preliminary trial in November, Brant pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was given probation.
Keep in mind, victims and victims’ families have a legal right to seek and obtain monetary compensation for the injuries caused.
Anyone in need of information about victims’ rights, or who has been a victim of a sex crime, should contact a civil tort sexual-assault lawyer without delay since survivors of sexual assault have the right to commene their own civil case against the perpetrator in seeking monetary and penalty damages from the perpertator.