LYNWOOD — Harold Greenberg, the attorney for former Firebaugh High School Principal Jonas Silverio, said his client is “not just going to roll over and play dead.”

Silverio is facing 18 counts of committing a lewd act on a child.

In an interview this week, Greenberg, who has been Silverio’s defense attorney since the beginning, said he only “plays to win.”

“It’s easy to make accusations,” he said. “The question is you have to prove it.”

“You’ll see our side in court,” said Greenberg after being asked how he thinks the preliminary hearing, which is scheduled to start Tuesday, will go. “It may not necessarily be at the preliminary, but I play to win, so there is no sense in exposing what I’m going to do at the prelim or at any time. Basically, I’m not about to show my cards.”

Silverio, who is still being held at Twin Towers on $1.2 million bail, was scheduled for a Sept. 29 preliminary hearing before Compton Superior Court Judge John Cheroske. Greenberg confirmed this week that he was indeed engaged in another trial at the moment and thus had to request the hearing be moved up.

A former police officer and prosecutor, Greenberg said cases like this are different because they deal with potential minors.

“We haven’t spoken to their witnesses at this stage,” he said. “I have spoken to other witnesses, so I know where I am with different issues and different things that I’m going to have to do.”

Still at some point in time, Greenberg said he will consider speaking to the prosecution’s witnesses. “The question is whether or not their witnesses will speak to me. I’m an ex-D.A., so I know how the office works. In fact I was in charge of juvenile for a period of time, so basically, they’re not going to let any of these witnesses talk to me, and that is neither fair or right, and that may not necessarily be justice, but that’s the way it works. So it’s up to me to investigate, put things out there and not let the prior fact make the decision.”

The prosecutor for the D.A.’s office handling the case is Stephanie Chavez. She said she never speaks to the press.

“It’s not the D.A.’s policy, it’s just my policy, that I’d rather not speak to the media,” she said in an interview back in June. Several calls to her office this week were not returned.

Other than not being given the opportunity to speak to the victims yet, Greenberg said the D.A. has given him copies of all of the necessary documents they are supposed to give him.

Overall, Greenberg said that he is well aware of all of the accusations Silverio is being charged with and that he is familiar with Silverio’s 1995 conviction on similar charges.

Was that conviction ever expunged?

“No,” said Greenberg. “First of all, the only time you can have an expungement is when there is a factual finding of innocence, not just a not guilty or an acquittal, because an acquittal or a not guilty does not mean innocence, it just means the people have failed to prove their case.”

An expungement essentially means a record is destroyed, that no one no longer has it.

Silverio’s 1995 conviction was set aside, Greenberg said. “And then if you’re ever asked have you ever been arrested or convicted, the answer is, ‘no,’ but the record is not destroyed, and on the dockets it is going to say ‘dismissed pursuant to 1203.4’” of the Penal Code.

Asked about Silverio’s reaction to the accusations, Greenberg said: “It’s not going to happen. Good try though.”

The Sheriff’s Department’s investigation has been a long one, Greenberg said, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s accurate.

“They always feel they have a strong case. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s accurate and it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true. … [sheriff’s deputies] are the lawyers unemployment relief act of 2009. If they weren’t out there creating business for me, what would I do.”