GUILTY CA - Gregory Haidl, Kyle Nachreiner & Keith Spann for gang rape, Corona de Mar, 2002

[Sky]

ORANGE COUNTY
Rape Trial Expert: Teen Unconscious
'Use your common sense,' neurologist tells the jury. Previous specialist testified the girl was awake.

By Claire Luna, Times Staff Writer

Attempting to patch holes the defense may have punched in their case, prosecutors in an Orange County rape trial called a neurologist Tuesday to testify that the alleged victim was clearly unconscious.

"She looks like a rag doll," Dr. Peter Fotinakes said while watching in court a videotape that the prosecution says shows the three defendants raping a 16-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her with various objects.

Charged in the July 2002 incident are Gregory Scott Haidl, 18, and Kyle Joseph Nachreiner and Keith James Spann, both 19. Although all three teens and the girl lived in Rancho Cucamonga at the time, the incident took place at the Corona del Mar home of Haidl's father, a top-ranking Orange County sheriff's official.

A neurology expert called by the defense told jurors June 8 that the girl's actions in the video — raising her arms and brushing back her hair, for example — illustrated her alertness.

On Tuesday, Fotinakes said her movements were not as purposeful as the earlier witness made them seem. Her arms were flaccid when she lifted them, and her head kept flopping to the side, he said.

Prosecutors have said that the defendants gave the girl an alcoholic drink laced with the date-rape drug GHB or a similar substance to knock her out.

Defense lawyers have countered that the girl — now 18 and called Jane Doe in court — was faking unconsciousness and that the encounter was consensual.

After reviewing the 21-minute tape, Fotinakes addressed the jurors directly.

"You don't have to be an expert to understand there is a significant amount of intoxication going on with this girl," Fotinakes said. "Use your common sense."

The doctor admitted under cross-examination that it can be difficult to distinguish between unconsciousness caused by drugs or alcohol and that triggered by a psychological disorder.

The defense has offered Jane Doe's troubled home life as justification for her feigned unconsciousness.

But Jane Doe didn't seem to be faking her symptoms on the video, Fotinakes said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-haidl16jun16,1,2990471.story?coll=la-headlines-california

Sky

 

[Sky]

Getting ready to head out the door. Have a great weekend everyone!

Sky

ORANGE COUNTY
Prosecutor Is Called to Testify in Rape Trial
Defense questions whether taped evidence was altered during a viewing by an expert.

By Claire Luna, Times Staff Writer

A high-profile Orange County rape trial took an unusual turn Wednesday when the prosecutor was called to testify as part of the defense's continued campaign to toss out a video of the alleged assault.

Attorneys for the three teens accused in the 2002 rape of an unconscious 16-year-old girl said they were trying to find out why Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Hess showed footage of the alleged rape to a video expert June 8.

They have asked the judge to direct the jury to disregard the video in its entirety — a request that if granted could result in a mistrial.

The defense lawyers believe that portions of the tape could accidentally or even deliberately have been erased — especially parts that lend weight to their belief that the video has been doctored — during the 15 minutes Hess and video expert Brad Hagen were alone with the footage and a VCR.

"Nobody goes in and does that to evidence," said defense attorney Joseph G. Cavallo outside court. "You don't touch evidence without the defense lawyer's knowledge."

Cavallo's client, Gregory Scott Haidl, 18, along with Kyle Joseph Nachreiner and Keith James Spann, both 19, could face up to 55 years in prison if convicted. Although all three defendants and the alleged victim lived in Rancho Cucamonga at the time, prosecutors say the incident took place at the Corona del Mar home of Haidl's father, an Orange County assistant sheriff.

In a written response to the defense attorneys' motion, prosecutors said they did nothing wrong. "There was no experimentation that took place here," the brief read. "The People's expert simply watched the videotape."

The playing of the 21-minute tape took place about 4 p.m. on June 8 in the jury room of the Santa Ana courtroom where the trial has been going on for six weeks. The jury was not present during Wednesday's 10-minute hearing. Hagen testified that he used the "record inhibit" mode on his VCR to ensure that the tape was not modified.

"Did you in any way alter what was on [the tape]?" asked Orange County Superior Judge Francisco P. Briseño.

"No, sir," Hagen replied.

Over the protests of fellow prosecutor Brian Gurwitz, Hess was called to the stand to testify about which court personnel gave him the tape and where they got it. Gurwitz said Hess' declaration, continued in the prosecutors' opposition to the defense motion, should have eliminated his colleague's need to testify.

Hess stood and swore to tell the truth, then took the stand as have all of the other witnesses in the trial. The clerk, Sue Hauer, smiled as she asked him to state his full name and spell his last name for the record.

Hess answered all of defense attorney Peter Scalisi's questions, mostly with yes or no replies. Hess acknowledged he had not received authorization from the court to play the video for the witness, nor had he notified the defense lawyers of his plans.

The judge plans to rule on whether the tape should be tossed out following Hagen's testimony today in front of the jury. Gurwitz said Wednesday that the issues discussed at the hearing should not be mentioned to the jury in their instructions, as the defense attorneys had also requested.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-haidl17jun17,1,5383329.story?coll=la-editions-orange

 

[snorky]

Testimony in an Orange County gang-rape trial ended Thursday with both sides calling rebuttal witnesses to bolster their cases before next week's closing arguments.

The witnesses, experts in their respective fields, addressed three matters at the heart of the trial: the alleged victim's purported unconsciousness at the time, the injuries that prosecutors say she suffered, and the integrity of a videotape of the incident.

The trial judge weighed in again on the tape Thursday, saying it would remain in evidence despite an argument by the defense that it might have been tampered with last week by a prosecution witness.


more.....

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-haidl18jun18,1,5842083.story?coll=la-editions-orange

 

[Sky]

Final arguments in OC rape trial

SANTA ANA — A prosecutor today urged jurors to view as often as possible videotape allegedly showing the gang-rape of a teenage girl, and to focus on the actions of the defendants, not the alleged victim.
"I noticed each time I see that videotape, I see something new," Deputy District Attorney Dan Hess said during his closing argument in Santa Ana to the eight-man, four-woman panel. "Because of the graphic nature of it, your attention is zoned in by the general actions on it."

Gregory Scott Haidl of San Clemente, the 18-year-old son of Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, and 19-year-old Rancho Cucamonga residents Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann are charged with 24 counts in connection with the alleged attack on the then 16-year-old girl.

The videotape shot by Haidl, which includes some school and skateboard scenes along with 21-minutes of the alleged rape, has been shown to the jury about five times. Members of the audience have not been allowed to see it.

Prosecutors said the tape shows an unconscious girl being raped by the defendants, who used a number of items to sexually assault the alleged victim. Authorities believe the girl was given a drink spiked with a "date-rape" drug.

But defense attorneys said the girl was a willing participant in the encounter and had faked unconsciousness.

Defense lawyers came into court and said, "let me tell you about this horrible, slutty girl named Jane Doe, and about these normal 17-year-old (boys) who didn't have a choice," Hess said today.

"You'll see that (on the tape, the defendants) are celebrating," said Hess. "They are mugging for the camera and making crude comments. They're dancing around. They know she is unconscious, they're competing with each other to see who can do the worst things to her.

"From watching the actions of the defendants, you'll know Jane Doe is not a willing participant," he continued. "These are little boys pulling the wings off butterflies. They're doing it because they can."

The alleged victim testified that she attended a party on July 4, 2002, at the Corona del Mar home, with three friends, then returned the next night by herself -- when her girlfriends said they made other plans for the evening.

She said she arrived in the early morning hours of July 6, had a puff of marijuana, a beer, and a drink that tasted like pine needles that she did not like, and lost consciousness, waking up only to vomit.

During opening statements, Hess described the tape frame by frame.

The alleged attack included penetration of the victim with the large end of a pool cue, juice can, Snapple bottle and lighted cigarette, according to the prosecutor.

Doe testified that she was woken up the next morning by Spann, who wanted the keys to her car to drive back to Rancho Cucamonga, but she said she passed out again and awoke in the car in front of Spann's home.

Former girlfriends of Doe testified that she told them she knew she had sex with the teens and that the teens and could not be trusted to tell the truth.

The tape fell into the hands of authorities when Haidl and Nachreiner left it at a rented beach house in Newport Beach and it was shown to a group of friends, including a couple, who, believing the girl was dead, took it home and showed it to a police officer.

The defendants are charged with three counts of rape by intoxication, two counts of oral copulation by intoxication, 14 counts of sexual penetration by intoxication, four counts of penetration by force and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/062204_oc_rape_finalArguments.html

Sky

 

[Sky]

D.A. Tells Jurors In Gang Rape Trial Entire Crime Is On Tape
Defense Attorney Claims Video Has Been Altered, Is Unreliable

LOS ANGELES -- A videotape of the alleged gang rape two years ago of an unconscious girl captures all 24 counts charged against three young men, including the younger son of an assistant sheriff, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Defense: Victim Was Willing

"This is an unusual case, in that the entire crime is on video," prosecutor Dan Hess told the eight men and four women who will be asked to decide the fate of Greg Haidl, 18, and Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, both 19 and of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

"You have been able to see each and everything that the defendants have said, each and everything that the defendants have done. All 24 counts are captured on the video," Hess said in his closing argument.

He told the panel to use common sense, and to go back and look at the video again and again if necessary to sort out the truth.

"I noticed each time I see that videotape, I see something new," Deputy District Attorney Dan Hess said during his closing argument in Santa Ana to the jury.

Haidl attorney Joe Cavallo told the jurors to forget about the video and acquit the defendants.

He said the jury needs to provide more than common sense. He said the panelists need to render justice.

The video Haidl shot has not been shown to the courtroom audience, to protect the privacy of the alleged victim referred to as "Jane Doe."

Prosecutors said the tape shows an unconscious girl being raped and sexually assaulted by the defendants. Authorities believe the girl was given a drink spiked with a "date-rape" drug.

The defense contends the girl was a willing participant, who faked her unconsciousness.

Hess said the lawyers talked about a "double standard" during jury selection, but the defense came to court and said, "Let me tell you about this horrible, slutty girl named Jane Doe," while referring to the defendants as normal boys.

"But their actions are key," he said. "You'll see that (on the tape, the defendants) are celebrating," said Hess. "They are mugging for the camera and making crude comments. They're dancing around. They know she is unconscious, they're competing with each other to see who can do the worst things to her.

"From watching the actions of the defendants, you'll know Jane Doe is not a willing participant," he continued. "These are little boys pulling the wings off butterflies. They're doing it because they can."

Hess told jurors there are "six different crimes" shown on the tape.

"Not every defendant commits each and every act," Hess said, "But each is responsible and each is liable for every crime charged and that is because of aiding and abetting."

Hess said the judge has given jurors the option on each of the crimes to convict the three of "lesser and included" charges of misdemeanor simple battery or sexual battery.

"Each of the 24 charges has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and I'm not arguing for the lesser (included charges), but that is an option the judge has given you," Hess said.

The alleged victim testified that she attended a party on July 4, 2002, at the Corona del Mar, Calif., home with three friends, then returned the next night by herself -- when her girlfriends said they'd made other plans for the evening.

She said she arrived in the early morning hours of July 6, had a puff of marijuana, a beer, and a drink that tasted like pine needles that she did not like, and lost consciousness, waking up only to vomit.

Former girlfriends of Doe testified that she told them she knew she had sex with the teens and that the teens and could not be trusted to tell the truth.

The videotape fell into the hands of authorities when Haidl and Nachreiner left it at a rented beach house in Newport Beach, Calif., and it was shown to a group of friends, including a couple, who, believing the girl was dead, took it home and showed it to a police officer.

The defendants are charged with three counts of rape by intoxication, two counts of oral copulation by intoxication, 14 counts of sexual penetration by intoxication, four counts of penetration by force and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

http://www.nbc4.tv/news/3447291/detail.html

Sky

 

[Ghostwheel]

I hope they are found guilty, after all there is a TAPE of the assult! it's not like they can deny it happened. I bet they are wishing they had not made the video now.

However, I think the 55 years max penalty is too much when taking into account everyones age, the alcohol, the prior sexual contact with the girl etc etc.... I would like to see them punished and jailed, held accountable but not for 55 years....

Flame me if you will :truce:

You know what? I don't think 55 years is too long at all, I wouldn't want them as any part of society. Even if it was "consensual", is this kind of behavior what makes humanity strong? Why is it that it is OK to inflict harm on another because they don't mind, but it is not OK to inflict harm on yourself (they put you in a mental hospital for that, you know). Can someone tell me what the difference is?

Who protects the children (and 16 is still a child) who's self esteem is so gone that they cannot (or choose not) to protect themselves?

 

[Sky]

Very good points Ghostwheel. You should write a paper on this absurdity. Ok, here's the latest:

Rape Trial in Its Last Phase
The prosecution in the O.C. case stresses a videotape. The defense hammers at credibility.

By Claire Luna, Times Staff Writer

The well-dressed defendants with folded hands aren't the young men jurors should think about as they consider their verdict in an Orange County rape case, the prosecutor said Tuesday in his closing argument.

Instead, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Hess, the jury should focus on the young men as they appear on a 2-year-old videotape the jurors have watched — giggling, he says, as they rape an unconscious 16-year-old girl.

"These are little boys pulling the wings off of a butterfly," Hess said. "They're doing it because they can."

But defense lawyers, who started their closing arguments and are scheduled to finish them today, warned the jury that there is too much reasonable doubt to convict their clients. The tape is missing crucial minutes, possibly as a result of tampering, they contended, and the alleged victim's testimony was loaded with inconsistencies.

"They only have two pieces of evidence: the video and Jane Doe," said attorney Joseph G. Cavallo. "Neither has any credibility."

Prosecutor Hess walked through each of the 24 counts against the defendants: Gregory Scott Haidl, now 18, and Kyle Joseph Nachreiner and Keith James Spann, both 19.

All three defendants and the alleged victim lived in Rancho Cucamonga at the time, but the incident is alleged to have occurred in the Corona del Mar home of Haidl's father, a wealthy, high-ranking Orange County sheriff's official.

If convicted on all charges — 23 felony counts of rape and penetration by a foreign object, and one count of assault with a deadly weapon — each defendant could get up to 55 years in prison. The jury will also have the option of convicting them on misdemeanor charges.

Hess displayed for the jurors still photographs from the video that he said corresponded to each count, and twice displayed poster-size enlargements of the pictures.

As with the video itself during the trial, the public was not allowed to see the photos. Instead, it heard the prosecutor's descriptions, more graphic Tuesday than ever before in the two-month trial.

After having sex with the apparently unconscious girl in two positions on a white wicker couch, Hess said, the boys move her to a pool table and start inserting objects into her with increasing force. They sexually assault her with both ends of a pool cue, Hess said, at one point shoving it inside her nearly five inches.

"It's for their sexual arousal. It's for their sexual gratification," Hess said. "But it's also for the abuse. That's the part they really enjoy."

The prosecutor said that the activities with the pool cue, which could have caused severe injuries, justify the deadly-weapon assault charges.

Although each of the defendants does not participate equally in each activity, Hess said, they are all criminally liable for every count because they helped each other: Nachreiner giving her the drink that prosecutors say knocked her out, then having sex with her, Spann having sex with her on the couch and pool table and Haidl filming and inserting some of the objects.

"One for all, all for one, they are all committing these crimes," Hess said.

Hess noted that the alleged victim, now 18, said she remembered virtually nothing of the encounter.

By contrast, the defense lawyers who spoke Tuesday focused on Jane Doe. What their clients knew of the girl, they said, was that she had fooled around with all three defendants the night before the incident, having sex with at least two of them.

She returned the next night, Cavallo said, knowing she would likely have sex with all of them.

"It's not like she was going down [there] to play chess or tiddlywinks at 1 o'clock in the morning," Cavallo said.

The encounter was consensual, and Jane Doe was alert enough to tell them to stop at any point, the defense lawyers said. But the prosecutor is using the videotape to "bamboozle" the jurors into believing the incident was a brutal gang rape rather than a consensual encounter, Cavallo added.

"The tape is not pretty," he said. "But you don't have three criminals here…. It was an environment created by four people, four stupid teenagers who did stupid things that night."

Both defense lawyers who spoke Tuesday attacked what they called inconsistencies in Jane Doe's testimony — "quite frankly, we don't have posters big enough" to list all of her lies, Cavallo said — and the integrity of the videotape. There was ample opportunity to doctor it, deleting crucial minutes between scenes, Cavallo said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-haidl23jun23,1,2204035.story?coll=la-headlines-california

 

[Sky]

Deliberations Begin In Gang Rape Case

SANTA ANA — Jurors deliberated a little more than a hour today before asking to see a videotape they watched several times during the gang rape trial of an Orange County assistant sheriff's younger son and two others.
In closing arguments, Deputy District Attorney Dan Hess urged the eight- man, four-woman panel to watch the tape as often as needed to conclude that Gregory Scott Haidl, 18, of San Clemente and Keith Spann and Kyle Nachreiner, both 19 of Rancho Cucamonga, are guilty of 24 felony charges.

Hess argued that "Jane Doe," then 16, was passed out and clearly unable to resist as the teens raped and penetrated her with a juice can, Snapple bottle, lighted cigarette and a pool cue.

"The tape is what they don't want you to watch," Hess said. "It's what they don't want you to focus on because the tape lays out every single crime."

But Peter Morreale, who represents Spann, told jurors it is Doe -- not videotape of the alleged July 6, 2002, attack -- that deserves scrutiny.

"Jane Doe is the linchpin, if you will," Morreale said. "She's the foundation of this case. Her credibility, her statements, her inconsistent statements, her lies are all matters that this jury should consider in deciding how much weight to give her."

The defense claimed she faked being unconscious.

As deliberations began this afternoon, the panelists chose juror No. 7, a man believed to be in his 50s, as foreperson, a court clerk said.

The defendants could get up to 55 years in prison if convicted. However, they could face much less time if convicted of the lesser charges of sexual and simple battery.

The graphic video has never been shown to the courtroom audience.

The videotape fell into the hands of authorities when Haidl and Nachreiner left it at a rented beach house in Newport Beach and it was shown to a group of friends, including a couple.

Fearing the girl they saw on the tape was dead, they took the video home and showed it to a police officer.

The defendants are charged with three counts of rape by intoxication, two counts of oral copulation by intoxication, 14 counts of sexual penetration by intoxication, three counts of penetration by force, one count of penetration by force in concert and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/062304_nw_gang_rape.html

 

[Sky]

Jury Gets Teens' Gang-Rape Trial
Defendants' lawyers say key evidence may have been altered and call the alleged victim a liar. Prosecutor contends that is a diversion.

By Claire Luna, Times Staff Writer

After weeks of conflicting and sometimes emotional testimony, jurors in a high-profile gang-rape case were asked Wednesday to determine the fate of three teens accused of sexually attacking an unconscious 16-year-old girl.

The trial ended much as it began in the Santa Ana courtroom, with attorneys at odds on what happened at the 2002 summertime party in Corona del Mar, where the girl met up with the three high school students.

Lawyers for the accused young men told the Orange County Superior Court jury to disregard the alleged victim's testimony and a videotape of the incident, saying neither is credible. The tape might have been altered, and the alleged victim is a liar, they said.

But prosecutor Dan Hess, in his final statement Wednesday, told jurors that the defense's contentions of tainted evidence and the relentless attack on the young woman's character and credibility were part of a smokescreen to distract them from the footage.

"It's all to divert your attention away from the videotape," Hess said. "The tape is what they don't want you to watch. The tape lays out every single crime."

Gregory Scott Haidl, 18, Kyle Joseph Nachreiner and Keith James Spann, both 19, are charged with 24 felony counts, most of them charges of rape by intoxication or force and one of assault with a deadly weapon: a pool cue.

If convicted, they face up to 55 years in prison.

Jurors, though, have the option of convicting them of misdemeanor charges.

Although the suspects and the alleged victim all lived in Rancho Cucamonga at the time, the incident occurred in the Corona del Mar home of Haidl's father, a high-ranking Orange County Sheriff's Department official.

The prosecutor's one-hour rejoinder to the three defense lawyers' closing arguments criticized them for trying to make the jurors believe that the girl, now 18 and called Jane Doe in court, was a consensual partner.

Authorities have said she appeared unconscious in the video soon after one of the defendants gave her a mixed drink, and the boys then took turns raping her and sexually assaulting her.



"There's no way that anyone, any reasonable person, could think that Jane Doe could give consent," Hess said.

But the boys had every reason to think she was a willing partner, their lawyers said. After drinking heavily, she had had sex with two of the youths the night before, she said in court, returning the next day knowing that they would likely expect the same kind of encounter.

"She basically created an atmosphere that resulted in this occurring," said Peter Morreale, Spann's lawyer, who gave his closing statement Wednesday morning.

While acknowledging that the videotape was graphic, he asked the jurors to imagine watching a videotape of the activities from the previous evening. "I bet it wouldn't have looked too different from the one you've already seen," he said.

The alleged victim is a habitual liar, prone to embellishment, who wouldn't have hesitated for a second to manipulate jurors just as she had the police in the case, Morreale said. "This case hinges on consent," he said. "There was consent."

The attorney spent the final minutes of his argument urging jurors not to let their peers sway them unduly. Better to disagree, Morreale said, than to compromise their beliefs.

"Don't prostitute yourself," he said. "Each one of you must have the strength of your convictions."

Like the other defense lawyers, the prosecutor said, Morreale misrepresented the facts of the case.

"When you disregard what is not important, when you clarify what has been taken out of context," Hess said, "you will find these defendants guilty on all counts."

After Hess finished addressing the jury, the judge read to the jurors 67 pages of instructions to guide their deliberations in the complex case.

The document contains legal definitions of such terms as consent and informs jurors that the alleged victim's consent to prior sexual activity with the defendants is irrelevant.

As deliberations began, the eight-man, four-woman jury elected Juror No. 7, a man who appears to be in his 50s, as foreman. About an hour later, they asked to watch the video.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/state/la-me-haidl24jun24,1,5478733.story?coll=la-news-state

 

[jubie]

Sky,

I've been able to keep up with this thanks to you. Now we nail bite waiting for the verdict.....


Thanks,
Jubie

 

[Sky]

Hi Jubie! No promlemo I am so curious to see what the final verdict will be. Here is the latest from the jury:

Gang-Rape Jury Signals Doubt

By Claire Luna, Times Staff Writer

Jurors in a gang-rape case involving the son of an Orange County sheriff's official continued deliberating Thursday, indicating through questions to the judge that they may be unable to reach a verdict on one of the charges.

In a question sent at 1:25 p.m. to Judge Francisco P. Briseño, the Orange County Superior Court jury asked: "If we are unable to reach a verdict on Count #1, are we to continue on to other counts, or do we stop?"

The charge in question is rape by intoxication, one of 24 counts against Gregory Scott Haidl, 18, and Kyle Joseph Nachreiner and Keith James Spann, both 19.

The judge told them to continue deliberating, a court representative said.

Forty-five minutes later, the jury asked to have the court reporter read back the testimony of the neurologists who were called in the two-month case.

Earlier Thursday morning, the four-woman, eight-man jury wanted to see portions of the video that prosecutors say shows the defendants raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl in 2002.

The suspects and the girl all lived in Rancho Cucamonga at the time, but the incident took place at the Corona del Mar home of Haidl's father, Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl. The defense contends the encounter was consensual.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-haidl25jun25,1,3121543.story?coll=la-headlines-california

 

[Sky]

Hung Jury?
Jurors in OC rape case at odds


by R. Scott Moxley


On June 24, the second day of deliberations, jurors in the Haidl gang rape case said they are "unable to reach a verdict" on count 1, rape by intoxication, and asked if they should halt discussions about the other 23 counts.


Superior Court Judge Francisco Briseño accepted the 1:25 p.m. jury announcement and ordered the panel to continue debating the merits of a case that’s attracted national attention.


The development is sure to delight defendants Greg Haidl, Keith Spann and Kyle Nachreiner. They are charged with videotaping themselves raping and molesting Jane Doe, an unconscious 16-year-old minor at a July 2002 party in the Corona del Mar home of Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, Greg’s father. In addition to sexual intercourse and oral copulation, the drunken defendants used a Snapple bottle, Tree Top Apple Juice can, lighted cigarette and a pool cue to repeatedly penetrate the girl’s vagina and anus as she lied motionless on a garage pool table. If convicted, they face as little as probation to a maximum 55 years in prison.


There’s little doubt what has jurors at odds. Forty minutes after Briseño told the panel to continue, the eight-man, four-woman panel asked court staff to read back the "complete" testimonies of Dr. H. Ronald Fisk, a defense-paid neurologist, and the prosecution’s Dr. Peter Fotinakes.


During the five-week trial, the doctors gave conflicting testimony about Doe’s consciousness. Fisk claims Doe faked a coma and could solve math problems during the late-night incident; Fotinakes said Doe was "clearly" in a stupor from beer, marijuana and a likely drug-laced, eight-ounce glass of Bombay Gin given the girl by the defendants.


In their closing arguments earlier this week, defense lawyers John Barnett, Joe Cavallo and Peter Morreale pleaded with jurors not to compromise during deliberations, a sign the defense believed the majority of the panel favored the prosecution.


"These kids have been sitting here for two months with their hands folded (as if in constant prayer) and putting their faith in you," an emotional Morreale told jurors on June 23. "Make no mistake about it: these are boys. . . . Don’t throw the prosecution a carrot."


In his closing statement, prosecutor Dan Hess asked the jury to punish the defendants for their "horrible sadistic acts" on a girl who "clearly couldn’t resist."


On Wednesday, the panel selected a jury foreman and almost immediately asked to rewatch Haidl’s graphic homemade video. They reviewed the tape again this morning.


http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/04/42/webexclusive-moxley.php

 

[snorky]

Sky,
I've been able to keep up with this thanks to you. Now we nail bite waiting for the verdict.....
Thanks,
Jubie

Sky ~ You have done a great job with your updates and I too have relied on your continuing efforts. Thanks a bunch! Any gut feeling as to what the verdict will be?

 

[Sky]

Hi Snorky~ It's really hard to say which way this case will fall. I do feel that she was drugged...but then again, she has been so conflicting in her statements to other people. But, I mean really, a lighted cigarrette? I find it very hard to believe that someone who is consciously aware of what is happening to their body does not react more to this kind of treatment. She doesn't even wince. And date rape drugs are sooo common. I don't doubt for a second that they would have access to, and the desire to use these kind of drugs. I really liked what Ghostwheel said about how if we cause damage to ourselves (obviously with our own permission, & not hurting anyone else) we are locked up in a hospital, but if we cause damage to another with their permission, nothing happens. I do think these boys need to be punished. They need to grow up and learn that they can't get away with anything they want. Perhaps prison will be the best thing for this, I don't see how it'll happen any other way. I feel very bad for Gregory's father. He is in a sorry state of denial. I feel bad for this girl. She needs some serious help to learn to respect and honor herself.

Just my opinion of coarse!

Sky

 

[LadyLuck]

Sky, thanks for you updates on this case. I hope they find the boys guilty of something. Sounds like the young lady has some major problems but she did not deserve this.

 

[Ghostwheel]

Does anyone know what all 23 counts are?

 

[snorky]

Does anyone know what all 23 counts are?

I don't know Ghostwheel. Sounds like alot, but I am doubtful that they will be convicted on most of whatever they are. I am hoping some are convictions though. Sky, do you have a count?

 

[Sky]

Here's a list of the counts: (there's actually 24)

The defendants are charged with three counts of rape by intoxication, two counts of oral copulation by intoxication, 14 counts of sexual penetration by intoxication, four counts of penetration by force and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/06...lArguments.html

Sky

 

[Ghostwheel]

I'm hoping it isn't the intoxication part they are having problems with.

And isn't there some law against filming *advertiser censored*? With a minor? Without written consent? Etc....

 

[snorky]

I'm hoping it isn't the intoxication part they are having problems with.

And isn't there some law against filming *advertiser censored*? With a minor? Without written consent? Etc....

That's a great point Ghostwheel!!!!!