Judge Won’t Raise Bail in Haidl Rape Case

A judge refused to raise bail Wednesday for an Orange County assistant sheriff’s son on trial with two friends for allegedly raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl.

Prosecutors in the high-profile rape case on Monday asked that Gregory Scott Haidl’s $100,000 bail be raised because of a series of run-ins with law enforcement he has had since his arrest in the 2002 rape case. Haidl, prosecutors said, had shown such a disregard for the law that he might stop coming to court, or even flee.

But Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno said he saw no reason to increase bail, especially since prosecutors have no plans to file criminal charges against the youth in any of his recent brushes with the law.

“I’m going to let the status quo remain,” Briseno said.

Haidl is charged along with Kyle Joseph Nachreiner and Keith James Spann, both 19, with raping a girl in the Corona del Mar home of Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl. The elder Haidl was not home. The teens, who all lived in San Bernardino County at the time, videotaped the alleged gang rape.

In his motion for a bail hike, Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Hess cited incidents involving Haidl and his skateboard, along with allegations of vandalism and trespassing. The most recent confrontation was April 6, when sheriff’s deputies detained Haidl after he and two friends allegedly removed a handrail from a private stairway and used a second railing as a skateboard ramp.

The brief also mentioned accusations of witness intimidation, either by Haidl or investigators from his defense team.

Haidl’s lead attorney, Joseph G. Cavallo, said the motion was intended as a public-relations maneuver to prejudice the jury in the trial, which started May 3. There were no grounds, he said, because Haidl has done nothing to endanger public safety and has attended every court proceeding since his arrest.

Prosecutor Hess also asserted Haidl might flee because he was scared he would die in prison. The defendants each face up to 55 years in prison if convicted on all 24 counts.

Haidl is frightened, with good reason, Cavallo said, gesturing to his client’s slender frame after Wednesday’s brief hearing. But that doesn’t mean he is a flight risk, Cavallo added.

“He has no one anywhere in the world except his family in Southern California,” Cavallo said. “He’s not going anywhere.”