Alleged Rape Victim Arrested

An 18-year-old alleged victim in a gang rape case involving the son of a former Orange County assistant sheriff was arrested over the weekend and faces drug charges, authorities said Wednesday.

It was her second arrest in a week.

The woman was most recently arrested Saturday about 10:45 a.m. in Rancho Cucamonga along with her boyfriend, 18-year-old Joshua Tarabek, said San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Cindy Beavers. Tarabek was also charged with battering a peace officer.

Prosecutors have charged the Rancho Cucamonga woman with possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell and being under the influence of a controlled substance. She was released on her own recognizance; Tarabek remains in custody on $50,000 bail, Beavers said.

Six days earlier, police arrested the pair on suspicion of being under the influence of methamphetamine, authorities said. Prosecutors have not filed charges related to those arrests.

A civil lawyer for the woman, identified as Jane Doe because The Times does not name alleged sexual assault victims without their consent, said the woman had not hired an attorney for the criminal proceedings.

She and Tarabek are to appear in the Rancho Cucamonga courthouse Monday for a pretrial hearing and Nov. 22 for a preliminary hearing.

If convicted of possession with intent to sell, the woman could face a sentence ranging from probation to two to three years in prison, said San Bernardino County Supervising Deputy Dist. Atty. Ray Pyle.

Without commenting specifically on the charges, Sheldon Lodmer, her attorney, said his client “was not a drug addict or user before this rape occurred. This all started after the rape.”

The alleged assault occurred at a party in 2002, when she was 16. Prosecutors allege three teenage boys raped her in the Corona del Mar home of then-Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl.

The teens, including Haidl’s son, Gregory, taped the encounter, a video that became central to the prosecution’s case earlier this year. The defense team contended the sex was consensual.

A mistrial was declared when the jury deadlocked, with most jurors favoring acquittal.

Attorneys for the younger Haidl said they would attempt to introduce evidence of the woman’s drug use at the retrial, scheduled to start in January. If she testifies again, said lawyer Pete Scalisi, proof of her methamphetamine use could convince jurors that her memory is problematic.

“Certainly using meth now can affect her ability to remember events from over two years ago,” he said. “We also believe that Jane Doe was regularly using narcotics during the time leading up to the making of the film.”

A spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney’s office said the woman’s criminal case should not affect the rape case.

“Jane Doe’s recent behavior in no way reflects what happened on July 6, 2002, and how the defendants behaved on that date,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Kang Shroeder.

Since the mistrial was declared, Gregory Haidl, 19, has encountered legal troubles unrelated to the rape case. He was charged in July with having illegal sex with a 16-year-old girl, leading a judge to restrict his activities, with the penalty of jail for the duration of the retrial should he violate the judge’s orders.

On Oct. 31, Haidl was involved in a car accident that prosecutors said was alcohol-related and has been placed in a psychiatric hospital pending a Monday hearing to determine whether he will go to jail or remain in the hospital.