A federal appeals court says there are several reasons John Joseph Maillet can't withdraw his guilty plea on a child pornography charge for enticing a teenager to pose with venomous snakes. For one, Maillet didn't say he was innocent.
Maillet pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in south Mississippi. The next month he asked to withdraw the plea and fire his lawyer, saying he didn't know there was a mandatory sentence.
U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden refused and sentenced Maillet to 30 years. Maillet then asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to allow him to withdraw the plea.
The appeals court ruled Thursday, saying, among other things, that "Maillet has not asserted that he is actually innocent of the charge."
