A Casa Grande man who continues to appeal his six consecutive life sentences after being found guilty of 41 counts of physical and sexual abuse of minors has not sustained his burden of showing his trial judge erred last year in dismissing the latest challenge to the conviction and is therefore not due relief, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled.
Herman Lee Green Sr. was indicted in 2011 on charges stemming from the abuse of four children from 2001 to 2010. His convictions and sentences were affirmed by the court of appeals in 2013 but Green has continued to file petitions and motions with the Pinal County Superior Court and the court of appeals in an attempt to get a new trial or at least some DNA testing.
Green, who is in his early 50s, filed his latest challenge in September 2020 when he argued the trial court has lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate his case and that a child molestation statute he was indicted on was unconstitutional. Judge Joseph Georgini of the Pinal County Superior Court denied Green’s motion, which the court treated as a petition for post-conviction relief.
The unanimous June 11 decision by the appellate court noted it will not disturb Georgini’s ruling unless the court abused its discretion. After a review, the judges determined Green “has not met his burden of establishing such abuse here.”
The court of appeals also addressed Green’s ongoing contention that DNA evidence presented as his trial did not support probable cause for the charged offenses.
“Notably, Green has raised DNA issues several times before. The trial court therefore did not err in summarily dismissing this claim,” the appellate decision states. “We thus grant review but deny relief.”
Court records show Green came under investigation in 2002 after a police report was filed about Green “harming children.” No charges were filed in that case after Green reportedly threatened a victim who then named someone else as the perpetrator. In 2010 he was named in a 911 call for sexually abusing a teenaged girl. Investigators later identified three other victims of various ages.