BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS Defendants in rape...

BRIEFLY IN

THE NEWS

Defendants in rape trial could still testify

Three defendants accused of raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl two years ago have “reserved their right” to testify in the trial, a

defense attorney said on Tuesday.

Prosecutors say Greg Haidl, son of Assistant Orange County Sheriff

Don Haidl, Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann gang-raped the girl and

sexually assaulted her with various objects at the elder Haidl’s

Corona del Mar home.

The defense has maintained that the sex was consensual and that

the girl was conscious at the time. The jury has also watched a

20-minute videotape of the incident made by the defendants.

Haidl’s attorney, Joseph Cavallo, wouldn’t comment about the

defendants’ possibility of testifying, but said that they haven’t

completely waived their right to testify.

“They can still testify if they want to before the defense rests,”

he said.

Cavallo said the testimony of neurologist Harris Fisk on Monday

would have proven to jurors that Jane Doe knew what she was doing the

night of July 5, 2002. The doctor gave his opinion to the court that

her actions demonstrated that she was not unconscious.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Schroeder said it is up to the jury to

decide whether or not the girl was conscious.

“Whether Jane Doe was able to exercise reasonable judgment while

various sex acts are being performed on her with a Snapple bottle,

juice can and a pool cue is a decision that a jury will make, not by

someone being paid for that opinion,” she said.

Testimony will continue today.

Police seek man who grabbed woman

Costa Mesa police are looking for a man who reportedly grabbed a

21-year-old woman as she was walking on the street Monday night,

officials said.

The woman was walking west on Fairview Road, crossing Loyola

street at about 9 p.m. when a man walking in front of her turned back

and grabbed her breasts, said Costa Mesa Police Lt. John FitzPatrick.

The man repeatedly touched the woman inappropriately and fled only

after the woman hit him on the chest with her hand, he said.

The assailant is described as a man in his 20s, about 5 feet 7,

with black hair and a short buzz-style haircut, FitzPatrick said. He

was also wearing black and white-striped sandals, he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Costa Mesa Police

Department at (714) 754-5281.