District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced the promotion of a Valencia attorney who’s built a reputation on prosecuting some of L.A. County’s most heinous crimes against its most vulnerable victims.
Jonathan Hatami, who previously ran for the top D.A. job in the March primary, was named Friday as assistant head deputy of the Family Violence Division, which oversees the division’s Complex Child Abuse Section.
The promotion represents a reversal of fortune for the prosecutor who was at loggerheads with the previous district attorney, suing George Gascón in a case recently settled for terms that Hatami said he could not yet disclose pending approval from the county’s Board of Supervisors.
Hatami’s suit stated the self-described child-abuse survivor and advocate was an original member of the Complex Child Abuse Section founded by former District Attorney Jackie Lacey in 2016.
When Gascón took office, the new D.A. systematically promoted those who agreed with him, according to Hatami’s suit, which is one of about 20 filed within about a year of Gascón’s first term by his own prosecutors. L.A. County already has paid out millions to settle multiple claims against Gascón.
Hatami’s work in the courtroom figured prominently into the 2020 Netflix documentary, “The Trial of Gabriel Fernandez,” a lengthy trial for the mother of an 8-year-old Palmdale boy and her boyfriend, who were convicted in the child’s murder, the result of years of torturous abuse.
Pearl Fernandez was sentenced to life without parole. Her boyfriend Isauro Aguire was sentenced to death, which is on hold due to a moratorium issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Hatami, a Canyon High School graduate, said he has handled thousands of child-abuse cases during his years with the unit. He said he’s also grateful for the honor from current District Attorney Nathan Hochman, and for Hochman’s leadership, which he referred to as a “night-and-day” difference from Gascón.
Hatami was an outspoken critic of what he described as “soft-on-crime” policies from Gascón’s first day in office, ultimately becoming the first to sue and then throw his hat in the ring against Gascón. Hatami ended up endorsing Hochman, as did more than a half-dozen of his colleagues who were in the primary.
“Gascón never really said one word to me. We never even talked about the numerous cases that I handled,” Hatami said.
“Nathan (Hochman) is the complete opposite. He’s made protecting children a priority and fighting for justice for child victims a priority,” he said, adding there’s going to be more prosecution if fentanyl is left out and children are hurt, likening the situation to leaving a loaded gun around.
“It’s definitely a priority for (Hochman) to let the community know that if anybody uses fentanyl and as a result of that poison the child,” Hatami said, “they could be charged with murder.”
