Date-Rape Drug Scenario Raised at Trial

Videotaped evidence at the heart of a high-profile gang-rape case is consistent with the 16-year-old alleged victim’s being under the influence of a date-rape drug, a prosecution expert testified Monday.

Attorneys representing three young men accused in the case, including the son of a top Orange County sheriff’s official, have argued that the girl was a willing participant in the encounter. A videotape made by a defendant shows her apparently unconscious and unresponsive as a pool cue and other objects are inserted into her body.

But drug consultant Trinka Porrata, a former Los Angeles police officer who helped draft legislation to make substances such as Ecstasy illegal, said the girl appeared not only unconscious but also drugged. Prosecutors have contended that the girl was given the “date rape” drug gamma hydroxybutyrate -- known as GHB -- or a similar substance, such as sleeping pills.

Porrata stopped and started the tape as she explained her conclusion that the girl’s actions show that she had been rendered unconscious.

“Her movements are consistent with somebody under the influence of GHB,” Porrata said.

Facing rape charges that could send them to prison for 55 years each are Gregory Scott Haidl, 18, Kyle Joseph Nachreiner, 19, and Keith James Spann, 19, who all lived in Rancho Cucamonga when they were charged with the crime two years ago.

The encounter took place in the garage of Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl’s Corona del Mar home. The elder Haidl was not home at the time.

The defense lawyers attacked Porrata’s credibility, saying that because she is not a drug recognition expert qualified to testify about the effects of a range of substances, she doesn’t have the ability to recognize whether the girl had been drugged based on viewing the video.

They said that the girl, called Jane Doe in court proceedings, was more likely faking unconsciousness or suffering from a medical condition that caused her to display that behavior. Tests of the girl’s vomit showed no signs of drugs, said Gregory Haidl’s lead attorney, Joseph G. Cavallo.

“Porrata was called to testify to prejudice the jury,” Cavallo said after testimony ended for the day. “There are no toxicological findings to corroborate her observations.”

The witness was on the stand the entire day, including about half an hour to review the video with the jurors. The public is not allowed to see the footage, which Gregory Haidl recorded.

Supporting the drug theory is that the tape shows the girl apparently unconscious only eight minutes after she was pictured awake and alert, Porrata said.

That, along with the fact that the girl is shown consuming a comparatively modest amount of alcohol, led the expert to conclude that her behavior was consistent with having been given GHB.

Later, as two of the boys are having sex with her on a white wicker couch, the girl shows little reaction, Porrata said.

“She’s being jostled and jiggled around as opposed to [making] any deliberate movements,” the witness said. “Her head is literally flopping back and forth and side to side, which is also consistent with GHB.”

“What’s significant here is the lack of participation on her part,” she said. Later, Jane Doe starts to roll over and brings her arms to her chest when one of the boys pinches her, the witness said. This also is consistent with GHB, which produces unconsciousness but does not block pain, she said.

During questioning by Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Hess, the witness testified that some prescription drugs have effects similar to GHB. He specifically asked about the sleeping pill Halcion, which Porrata said is about 40 times more powerful than Valium.

Last week, a Newport Beach police detective was not allowed to testify about what was found in Don Haidl’s medicine cabinet during a search.

Nachreiner’s attorney, John Barnett, pressed Porrata on whether being drugged was the only explanation for the girl’s behavior.

“Drugs aren’t the only reasonable explanation for those movements,” Barnett said.

“Drugs are the most reasonable explanation,” Porrata responded.