CA- Ex-official's son wants sex offender label lifted

9-23-2009 California:


Greg Haidl and 2 others will ask court Wednesday to overturn convictions.

SANTA ANA – Greg Haidl – who was sentenced to six years in prison after he and two friends were convicted in a 2002 sexual assault of a teenage girl – wants his conviction thrown out.

A three-justice state panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal will hear Haidl's plea at a 9:30 a.m. hearing Wednesday. Haidl, along with co-defendants Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, argue they didn't get a fair trial when they were convicted in 2005 for their roles in the July 5, 2002, videotaped assault on the girl.

The three are asking the appeals court to overturn the conviction, or at least lift a requirement that they register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.

The heart of the appeal attacks the credibility of the girl, identified as "Jane Doe" – who testified that she didn't remember the incident because she was unconscious from drinking too much. Defense attorneys had argued she was faking unconsciousness, and was a willing participant in the sex acts.

In a brief filed in March, Haidl's attorney, Dennis Fischer, said the men weren't given a fair trial because the trial judge – Orange County Superior Judge Francisco P. Briseno – erred when he excluded testimony about a past sexual encounter of Jane Doe.
The expected testimony of defense witness Joey Cervantes – which has not been made public – would have been used by defense attorneys to discredit the victim.

"The testimony was particularly relevant, not just because it would have shown that Doe was untruthful in claiming she would never participate in the acts shown on the video, but because it would have … undermined the People's argument that defendant(s) … knew she would never consent to such acts,'' Fischer wrote.

Fischer also argued Briseno should have let jurors hear that Jane Doe – in between the two trials in this case – was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of methamphetamine.

The sexual assault happened in the garage of the Corona del Mar home of Haidl's father, then-Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl.

Greg Haidl and his co-defendants – who were juveniles at the time – captured the 20-minute assault on videotape. The tape was never made public, but was shown repeatedly to jurors.

"The videotape shows, among other things, appellants either personally or aiding and abetting one another" in penetrating the victim with a finger, a Snapple bottle, a juice can, a lit cigarette and a pool cue, Deputy Attorney General Lise Jacobson wrote in a brief filed in March.

The defendants were tried as adults. Their first trial resulted in a hung jury but they were convicted in March 2005 after a retrial. Each was convicted of several counts of sexual assault.

Exactly a year later, Briseno sentenced each of the defendants to six years in prison. At the sentencing hearing, they apologized to the victim.

"I'm sorry, it was never my intention to hurt you, (to) cause you pain," Greg Haidl said. "It was supposed to be a night among friends. What happened that night wasn't planned or plotted. I am different a person."

The men, who have since served their prison time, are not required to come to the hearing. Justices David G. Sills, Richard M. Aronson and Raymond J. Ikola will hear the case, and are expected to issue a ruling within 90 days. ..Source.. by RACHANEE SRISAVASDI