Judge accused of sexual assault in Fresno courthouse seeks dismissal of 5 counts
A retired Fresno judge has petitioned the U.S. Federal Court to dismiss the sexual assault charges he faces, arguing he was not acting “under color of law,” according to recent court filings.
Adolfo Corona, 66, was indicted in August for the alleged sexual assault of a Fresno County Superior Courthouse employee in a courthouse stairwell and subsequent attempts to obstruct an investigation into the allegations. He pleaded not guilty to five counts following the indictment.
His attorney was not immediately available for comment, but Corona has maintained his innocence.
Prosecutors say Corona arranged the meeting in the stairwell with a judicial assistant on March 14, 2024, where it’s alleged he assaulted the 32-year-old judicial assistant. He retired from the bench about a month later at the end of April.
In a new court filing, Corona’s attorney, Michael Aed, argued the assistant was an employee of the court who did not answer directly to the judge. The filing also noted that while the judge interacted with the assistant, he was doing so as a private person and not a judge.
The filing includes an email conversation between Corona and the assistant on the day of the alleged assault in which they shared complaints about personal phone bills before Corona offered to give the assistant a gift.
“I am here today in (Courtroom) 61. Have candy for (redacted) and will have something for you,” Corona wrote in the email to the assistant. “Still on the bench though. I will let you know when I am done.”
The assistant agreed to meet Corona in the stairwell, the filing argues. For those reasons, the attorney’s petition argued a judge should dismiss the count of deprivation of rights under color of law.
The color of law count carries the stiffest potential sentence — which is 40 years in prison — of the five counts. The attorney also petitioned for the other counts to be dismissed, arguing they do not amount to federal crimes.
Corona was originally charged by the Fresno County District Attorney’s Office before he was indicted by a federal grand jury in August. The DA’s office has since dropped its case.
Prosecutors allege Corona obstructed the investigation into the accusations that he sexually assaulted a second victim.
Corona was in his chambers alone with a second alleged victim for two hours on Dec. 5, 2023. The woman was later found unconscious with her pants unbuttoned, prosecutors say. Corona told investigators he had left to pick up a motorcycle.
Investigators said Corona later attempted to persuade a motorcycle dealership employee to change the company’s records to corroborate that alibi.
Corona was appointed to the Fresno County Superior Court in 2003.
This story was originally published November 11, 2025 at 2:35 PM.
