Cases Involving Date-Rape Drugs Hard to Prove

Although experts say the prevalence of date-rape drugs is soaring, local authorities say they have not prosecuted anyone for such a crime in the last year and a half because the charge is so difficult to prove.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dee Corona, head of the sex crimes unit, said she has reviewed more than 100 rape cases since the start of 1999, the only statistics immediately available, and at least half a dozen involved victims who claimed that they were drugged.

“If the use of a date-rape drug is suspected, it is difficult because the drugs dissipate in the human body so quickly that it’s tough to get corroboration,” Corona said.

Trinka Porrata, a former Los Angeles police detective who helped draft the laws making date-rape drugs illegal to possess, said GHB and Rohypnol, also known as “roofies,” leave the system between eight and 12 hours after being ingested.

And many times, victims who have been slipped one of these drugs don’t realize that they have been raped due to the amnesia-like affects, Porrata said.

“It’s the most terrifying thing on Earth,” Porrata said.

Prosecutors, though, hope to file a date-rape drug case soon against Andrew Stuart Luster, the 36-year-old Mussel Shoals resident who was recently arrested on suspicion of raping three women.

Authorities said they believe Luster sedated women with GHB--because they found vials of a liquid resembling the depressant in his house--but now they need proof that the stuff was used during the alleged crimes.

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Ventura County taxpayers have been spared having to pay $72,000 in legal fees for former Superior Court Judge Robert Bradley, who spent a year before a state judicial commission explaining a series of alcohol-related arrests.

Bradley, who was removed from the bench in 1999 after receiving two drunk-driving tickets, sought to have the citizenry foot the tab because he claimed that the violations occurred while he was a sitting judge.

The county normally pays the bill for judges who must defend themselves on charges relating to their employment.

According to Kirk Watson, the county’s attorney, a Santa Barbara judge granted the county’s motion for summary judgment and Bradley’s case was tossed out.

Watson said Bradley’s argument in favor of recouping the money spent on a $275-per-hour lawyer was outrageous.

Bradley has appealed, and the matter is expected to be heard in court again in three to four months.

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If two fishermen shoot at each other in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, is it a crime?

Aye, but not necessarily one that’s prosecutable.

Such was the case of two rival squid boat captains who were arrested in December after firing at one another off Anacapa Island.

John L. Birgel, skipper of Aspiration, and Frank S. Flores, pilot of Obsession, were vying for a prime spot when they began arguing over their marine radios before shots rang out, cops say.

Both men called the Coast Guard and blamed each other for firing first. Their guns were confiscated, and the men were booked into jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

“Both said they acted in self-defense, and there were no independent witnesses. The physical evidence was also inconclusive,” Deputy Dist. Atty. John Vanarelli said. “We will never prove what really happened out there.”

Although the case ended months ago when Vanarelli decided not to file charges, authorities said the matter was unique because few incidents are ever reported in waters off Ventura County due to a lack of regular policing.

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Did he just fall off the truck?

A Simi Valley man was busted recently for allegedly lying to cops by telling them that a co-worker struck his vehicle when in fact it was smashed a year ago by an electric gate and then struck by a bus in October.

Additionally, Brian Fayard allegedly admitted that he didn’t have insurance to fix the car and had submitted a false claim to the co-worker’s insurance company for $1,300.

Detectives proved Fayard wrong after viewing a surveillance tape that monitored the parking lot at Fayard’s office. The tape showed that the co-worker did not cause the damage. Fayard was arrested on suspicion of insurance fraud.

All this reportedly from a guy who worked at a business call TLC.

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Holly J. Wolcott can be reached at 653-7581 or holly.wolcott@latimes.com.