Alleged rape victim wants no part of case

Marisa O’Neil

The family of an underage girl who allegedly had sex with Greg Haidl,

a defendant in a gang-rape trial and out on bail, filed a lawsuit on

Thursday against the Orange County District Attorney’s office,

alleging it illegally obtained a search warrant for the girl’s DNA.

The 16-year-old girl and her family want her DNA excluded from a

misdemeanor statutory rape case against 19-year-old Haidl -- son of

prominent Orange County Asst. Sheriff Don Haidl -- and an unspecified

amount of money, said Adam Stull, the attorney for the family, during

a press conference at his Irvine office Thursday. The family says the

district attorney’s office is forcing her to get involved in the

case, even though she doesn’t want to “in any way, shape or form,�

Stull said.

“We believe a victim has rights,� he said. “[Orange County

District Attorney] Tony Rackauckas does not believe a victim has

rights.�

The suit names the county, Rackauckas, prosecutors Dan Hess and

Elizabeth Costello and investigator Michael Welch.

The family retained Stull to act as a “buffer� between her and

prosecutors, Stull said. She does not intend to press charges against

Greg Haidl and said she had consensual sex with him on the night in

question, Stull said.

Greg Haidl is awaiting retrial on separate charges that he and two

other boys, Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, gang-raped an

unconscious 16-year-old girl on a pool table in Don Haidl’s Corona

del Mar Home on July 5, 2002 and assaulted her with various objects.

An eight-man, four-woman jury hopelessly deadlocked on the

charges, forcing the judge to declare a mistrial on June 28.

According to court documents, the second girl, whom prosecutors

are calling Jane Doe No. 2, met Greg Haidl at a party the night that

the judge declared a mistrial. Sheriff’s deputies arrested Greg Haidl

on July 2 after they were called to a San Clemente home where she,

Greg Haidl and other teenagers were having a party.

Hess requested that the girl give a saliva sample for DNA analysis

in the case, and she refused, Stull said. On Aug. 20, investigators

arrived at her house with a warrant and demanded a sample, the suit

alleges.

The warrant was obtained under false pretenses, Stull contends,

because victims cannot be compelled to provide a DNA sample. The

cover sheet of the warrant, provided by Stull, cites penal code

sections related to child pornography.

“That was never an issue,� he said.

Stull said his client does not want to undergo the scrutiny women

have in other cases, such as the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case.

“She wanted to stay out of the media, out of court, out of the

district attorney’s office and out of the front page,� he said.

The girl’s family does not know Haidl’s father, nor has he

influenced them to file the suit, Stull said.

Rackauckas issued a written statement in response to the lawsuit,

filed in United States District Court.

“We understand this girl’s fears given the abusive treatment that

Jane Doe No. 1 received at the hands of the Haidl defense team,� he

wrote. “We are always concerned with the feelings of a victim, and

from time to time a victim may not want to pursue a criminal

prosecution, but our overriding responsibility is to the community.

“It is our sworn duty to obtain justice for the community as a

whole. This obligation must be followed even though the victim may be

reluctant to testify. We will do everything we can to protect the

interest of the victim as we move forward in prosecuting this crime.�

Greg Haidl is free on $100,000 bail in the statutory rape case and

on another $100,000 while he awaits retrial on the gang rape case.

Earlier this month, Orange County Superior Court Judge Francisco

Briseno put restrictions on his bail, including a provision that Greg

Haidl stay away from underage females. Greg Haidl has to wear an

electronic monitoring device and carry a global-positioning system,

so the court can track him.

The statutory rape case is scheduled to start Aug. 31, and the

retrial is scheduled to start in October.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].