Marisa O'Neil
After a trial that ended last year with a hung jury and months of
legal wrangling ever since, starting today three men will once again
face charges that they gang-raped an allegedly unconscious
16-year-old girl in 2002.
Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, both now 20, and Greg Haidl, the
19-year-old son of former Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl,
still face many of the charges they did in last year's trial, which
ended with jurors unable to reach a verdict but leaning toward
acquittals on the major charges. But this time, prosecutors are
presenting a more "streamlined" case that they hope will mean less
confusion for jurors, Chief Assistant Deputy Dist. Atty. Chuck
Middleton said.
The first time around, the defendants faced 24 charges, including
multiple counts for each alleged act. This time, they face nine
charges, including oral copulation by intoxication and sexual
penetration by a foreign object by intoxication.
"It gets very confusing to a jury, especially in jury
instructions," Middleton said of multiple charges. "[This time], it's
easier for the jury to understand the case."
Members of that first jury were hired by Haidl attorney Joseph
Cavallo to act as consultants for the second trial. That move is not
illegal but has stirred ethical debates in the legal community.
Judge Francisco Briseno, who also heard the first case, ruled on
Thursday that a videotape of the July 5, 2002 incident in Don Haidl's
Corona del Mar home will not be shown to the public. As in the first
trial, video monitors in the courtroom will be positioned so only the
jurors can see them.
The maximum prison term the three men face decreased in the new
trial to 23 years from the 55 they faced last year.
Defense attorneys are working as if it were a death penalty case,
regardless of the prison time their clients could face, said Pete
Scalisi, an attorney for Greg Haidl.
"Either way, it's equivalent to a death sentence for three young,
good kids who've never been in trouble their whole lives," Scalisi
said. "Facing going to a brutal treacherous place like prison is a
death sentence for them."
Prosecutors are also dropping allegations that the date-rape drug
GHB was used to incapacitate the girl, referred to as Jane Doe.
That means they only have to prove she was under the influence,
not which substance caused it, prosecutors said. But defense
attorneys countered that the girl drank more the night before the
incident and was able to function.
