To prosecutors, Gregory Scott Haidl and his buddies are rapists, depraved teens who filmed themselves attacking an unconscious 16-year-old girl on a pool table during a summer night party in Corona del Mar.
Each could face 55 years in prison.
And that's what eats at Don Haidl. He worries that if his son goes to prison, the scrawny 18-year-old won't survive.
"If they send him to prison, it's a death sentence," said Haidl, an Orange County assistant sheriff. Haidl and his family try to remain optimistic. But doubt always creeps in. Because of the case's notoriety, they say, they are virtually confined to his home — where the alleged rape took place.
Haidl paints a picture of his son as "the most kind, caring, sweet kid you'd ever meet in your life." He says he believes his son is guilty of nothing more than acting thoughtlessly.
"They're all basically good kids who got themselves into a stupid, terrible situation," Haidl said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-me-haidl26apr26.story
Each could face 55 years in prison.
And that's what eats at Don Haidl. He worries that if his son goes to prison, the scrawny 18-year-old won't survive.
"If they send him to prison, it's a death sentence," said Haidl, an Orange County assistant sheriff. Haidl and his family try to remain optimistic. But doubt always creeps in. Because of the case's notoriety, they say, they are virtually confined to his home — where the alleged rape took place.
Haidl paints a picture of his son as "the most kind, caring, sweet kid you'd ever meet in your life." He says he believes his son is guilty of nothing more than acting thoughtlessly.
"They're all basically good kids who got themselves into a stupid, terrible situation," Haidl said.
http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-me-haidl26apr26.story