Rackauckas Calls Haidl a Threat to Girls

Calling an Orange County assistant sheriff’s son a threat to teenage girls after his second arrest on rape charges, the district attorney said Friday that Gregory Haidl, 19, should be locked up without bail while awaiting trial.

Just a few weeks after a jury deadlocked on charges that he participated in the alleged rape of an unconscious girl two years ago, Haidl was arrested Thursday on suspicion of having sex with a 16-year-old girl. He met the second alleged victim at a celebration June 28, the night a mistrial was declared.

Bail was set at $100,000 for the new charge, misdemeanor statutory rape. Haidl, who was bailed out by his family late Thursday, is scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 12. His family also has posted $100,000 bail for the earlier felony charges; prosecutors have said they will seek a new trial in that case.

Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said Friday that prosecutors will ask Judge Francisco P. Briseno to revoke Haidl’s bail at a hearing set for Tuesday. He said Haidl is a flight risk because his father is wealthy and that he poses a danger to the community.

“It’s astonishing that he’s not acting on his best behavior,” Rackauckas said at a news conference. “Even while facing rape charges, he’s still out introducing himself to 16-year-old girls.”

Calling the district attorney’s contentions “ludicrous,” Haidl attorney Pete Scalisi said his client has never considered running away. “Even facing life in prison, Greg always showed up in court,” Scalisi said. “Even arresting him on $100,000 bail for a misdemeanor is unfair and punitive.”

In the earlier case, Haidl is charged with participating in the alleged rape of an unconscious 16-year-old girl in July 2002, when he was 17. The videotaped incident occurred at his father’s Corona del Mar home.

Sheriff’s deputies have detained Haidl four times since his arrest two years ago. The other incidents involved allegations of vandalism or trespassing, but did not result in charges.

The most recent incident began when deputies answering complaints about a barking dog found Haidl hiding in the backyard of a San Clemente home, the district attorney said. After talking to the two males and three girls who were inside the house, deputies concluded that Haidl had earlier in the evening had sex with one of the girls, who is two years and 10 months younger than he.

If the age difference had been three years, Haidl could have been charged with a felony, he said.

Because both of Haidl’s cases involve 16-year-old girls, it is clear that Haidl cannot be trusted around young women, Rackauckas said.

“I think he’s a threat to do the same thing to other young ladies,” Rackauckas said.

Scalisi said Haidl had assumed the girl was of age because the friend who introduced them implied as much and because she holds a full-time job at a microbrewery. His interest in her does not make Haidl a threat to society, the lawyer said.

Rackauckas said evidence -- which he did not describe -- proves Haidl knew the girl in the latest case was younger than 18. The San Clemente girl did not want to press charges, but the district attorney said she could still be compelled to testify.