Keith Spann, Kyle Nachreiner and Gregory Haidl (O.C. Register / January 6, 2006) |
SANTA ANA -- Greg Haidl and two other men convicted in a high-profile gang rape case will remain registered sex offenders.
The state Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the men's request for a review of lower panel's decision that upheld their March 2005 conviction in Orange County Superior Court.
Haidl, 24, Keith Spann and Kyle Nachreiner, both 25, filed petitions in May asking the court to review a lower appeal panel's decision that upheld their March 2005 conviction in Orange County Superior Court.
Haidl, and his friends argue they didn't get a fair trial when they were convicted in 2005 in a videotaped gang rape of an unconscious girl.
The three were asking the state Supreme Court to overturn the conviction, or at least lift a requirement that they register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.
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, all juveniles at the time, captured the 20-minute assault on videotape.
The videotape shows the men, who were juveniles at the time, laughing and engaging in group sex with the then-16-year-old Jane Doe, who appears to be unconscious.
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, according to Deputy Attorney General Lise Jacobson.
The first trial resulted in a hung jury, but all three were convicted of several counts of sexual assault in a second trial in March 2005.
Each of the defendants was sentenced to six years in prison.
The three are basing their appeal on the credibility of the girl, identified as "Jane Doe."
Defense attorneys had argued she was faking unconsciousness, and was a willing participant in the sex acts.
In the petition, Haidl's attorney, Dennis Fischer, argued that the men should not have to register as sex offenders because they were acquitted of the one charge that allowed prosecutors to try them as adults (felony assault with force that resulted in great bodily injuries).
If they were tried as juveniles, the men would not be labeled lifelong offenders for the particular sex offenses they were convicted of, he added.
The state Supreme Court on Wednesday denied the men's request for a review of lower panel's decision that upheld their March 2005 conviction in Orange County Superior Court.
Haidl, 24, Keith Spann and Kyle Nachreiner, both 25, filed petitions in May asking the court to review a lower appeal panel's decision that upheld their March 2005 conviction in Orange County Superior Court.
Haidl, and his friends argue they didn't get a fair trial when they were convicted in 2005 in a videotaped gang rape of an unconscious girl.
The three were asking the state Supreme Court to overturn the conviction, or at least lift a requirement that they register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives.
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, all juveniles at the time, captured the 20-minute assault on videotape.
The videotape shows the men, who were juveniles at the time, laughing and engaging in group sex with the then-16-year-old Jane Doe, who appears to be unconscious.
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, according to Deputy Attorney General Lise Jacobson.
The first trial resulted in a hung jury, but all three were convicted of several counts of sexual assault in a second trial in March 2005.
Each of the defendants was sentenced to six years in prison.
The three are basing their appeal on the credibility of the girl, identified as "Jane Doe."
Defense attorneys had argued she was faking unconsciousness, and was a willing participant in the sex acts.
In the petition, Haidl's attorney, Dennis Fischer, argued that the men should not have to register as sex offenders because they were acquitted of the one charge that allowed prosecutors to try them as adults (felony assault with force that resulted in great bodily injuries).
If they were tried as juveniles, the men would not be labeled lifelong offenders for the particular sex offenses they were convicted of, he added.
