Media Can’t See Videotape in Rape Case
The judge hearing the case of three men accused of gang-raping a teenage girl when they were teenagers denied a media request Thursday to view a 21-minute tape of the alleged assault during the trial.
Media attorneys, including one representing the Los Angeles Times, asked Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno to allow the public to view the tape during the retrial of the three defendants, whose first trial in June ended in a jury deadlock.
The tape is the key piece of evidence against Gregory Haidl, 19, and Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, both 20. The defendants and alleged victim now live in the Rancho Cucamonga area.
Briseno ruled that the tape would be seen only by jurors, the same as during the first trial. The new trial is scheduled to begin Monday.
The alleged victim has been identified only as Jane Doe. Prosecutors say she was unconscious during the 2002 incident, which occurred in the Corona del Mar home of former Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, Gregory Haidl’s father.
Defense attorneys said the woman, who was 16 at the time, was a willing participant and pretended to be passed out from drinking gin.
The alleged victim is expected to be the first witness called by the prosecution.
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