Friends Testify in Rape Trial

Taking the stand in a high-profile rape trial Wednesday, former friends contradicted testimony by the alleged victim, including her claim that she did not remember having sex with the three boys accused of assaulting her.

One friend also testified the young woman later said that despite realizing what had happened, she “would do it all again.”

Charged in the July 2002 incident are Gregory Scott Haidl, 18, the son of a wealthy Orange County sheriff’s official; Kyle Joseph Nachreiner, 19; and Keith James Spann, 19, who all lived in Rancho Cucamonga at the time. They each face 55 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors say the defendants drugged the girl until she was unconscious, and then raped and sexually assaulted her with various objects, including a pool cue, while they videotaped the incident in the Corona del Mar home of Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl.

Lawyers for the three young men contend that the sex was consensual and that the girl feigned unconsciousness.

Defense attorneys called the three young women as their first witnesses Wednesday. All are 18 and seniors at Rancho Cucamonga High School. One of them, Jenna Stroh, recalled that on the morning after the incident, the girl -- then 16 -- said, “I don’t remember what I did, but I know I had sex with the three boys.”

Called Jane Doe in court to protect her privacy, the young woman has given an account of the days surrounding the July 6 incident that diverged drastically at some points from her friends’ testimony Wednesday.

Jane Doe testified that at a July 4 party at the Haidl home, she told her friends that she was disgusted to see footage of an earlier sexual encounter with Spann. She testified that she insisted Haidl delete it. Her friends said that, on the contrary, Jane Doe giggled as she watched the tape and said, “Look, I’m a porn star.” The girl never asked Haidl to erase the footage, they said.

They also contradicted her account of her encounter with defendant Nachreiner in the swimming pool July 4. Jane Doe testified that he had pulled her in and tugged off her jeans. She said that she kissed him, but did not have sex. Her friends testified that she jumped in, then asked the girls to help her remove her jeans. Later they saw her approach Nachreiner and, within minutes, start having sex.

Some testimony Wednesday contradicted Jane Doe’s statements on smaller issues. The girl testified that the next night, before returning alone to the Corona del Mar house about 12:30 a.m., she went to a friend’s house and changed clothes. Deana Murphy testified Wednesday that Jane Doe left wearing the clothes she had worn for her job as a restaurant hostess.

After Jane Doe returned to Rancho Cucamonga the next morning, she went to Stroh’s house to shower and take a nap. Stroh said she was shocked at her friend’s revelation that she couldn’t remember what had happened the night before, and asked Jane Doe if she realized the gravity of the situation.

“I do understand about it being serious,” Stroh said Jane Doe told her, “but to tell you the truth, I would do it all again.”

Cross-examining the girl’s friends, prosecutor Dan Hess tried to show that their original statements to police and defense investigators more closely paralleled Jane Doe’s version. Stroh told police a week after the incident that when Jane Doe came to her house, the girl smelled of alcohol and was “out of it.”

Testimony ended with friend Melissa Matsumoto recounting a discussion she says she had with Jane Doe two weeks after the incident. “I don’t know why they would have drugged me, if they did,” Matsumoto said her friend told her, “because I would have done it anyways.”