Gang-Rape Retrial Jury Called Savvy on Teen Sex

A jury that a defense attorney said was “aware of the sexual culture of teenagers” was seated Tuesday for the second trial of three young men accused of gang raping an unconscious girl in the home of a former Orange County assistant sheriff.

It took less than two days for a jury of eight men and four women to be selected for the retrial of Gregory Haidl, 19, and Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, both 20. Opening statements begin Monday and the Orange County Superior Court trial is expected to last two months.

The jurors range in age from a man in his 20s to retirees. They will be exposed to lurid stories of sex, drugs and videotaped sex scenes, including the alleged 2002 rape of a teen prosecutors say was too drunk to offer consent.

Nachreiner’s attorney, John D. Barnett, said the jurors picked to hear the case “understand the sexual culture that pervades the teenage population.”

“We weren’t necessarily looking for 20-year-old jurors, but parents of 20-year-olds and 18-year-olds,” Barnett said.

Attorney Pete Scalisi, one of two attorneys representing Haidl, said jurors “have certainly been conditioned as to what to expect during the trial.”

Prosecutors said they were simply looking for jurors with ties to the community.

“I felt the ones sitting there could be fair,” said Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Chuck Middleton.

A jury deadlocked in June during the first trial of the three defendants. The case has provided fodder for tabloids and television, mainly because the alleged rape occurred on a pool table in the Corona del Mar home of Donald Haidl, a millionaire who has since resigned as an Orange County assistant sheriff. Except for Gregory Haidl, an Orange County resident, the defendants and alleged victim live in the Rancho Cucamonga area.

The key evidence against Spann, Nachreiner and Gregory Haidl is a 20-minute video showing them having sex with the allegedly unconscious victim, identified as Jane Doe, who was 16 at the time. Haidl was also 16, and Nachreiner and Spann were 17.

In the first trial, she acknowledged having consensual sex with two of the defendants the night before the alleged rape. All three defendants said she agreed to have sex with them the night of the alleged assault and pretended she was passed out. Prosecutors said a pool cue, fruit can, juice bottle and cigarette were used to sexually assault her.

Gregory Haidl has had numerous run-ins with the law since his 2002 arrest. He had his bail revoked in November and was jailed for allegedly driving the wrong way on a Santa Ana street and causing an accident. Haidl is also facing prosecution for allegedly trespassing and having sex with a different 16-year-old girl.

Jane Doe has legal problems of her own. In the fall, she was arrested twice on suspicion of possessing and using methamphetamine and intent to sell it.