Haidl defense claims video was doctored

Lolita Harper

The criminal defense team in the rape case of the son of an assistant

Orange County sheriff filed a motion Thursday to bar as evidence the

videotape that captures the alleged crime, contending it was altered.

Joseph Cavallo, who represents Gregory Scott Haidl, the son of

Asst. Sheriff Don Haidl, filed the motion “based upon evidence that

the critical evidence being proffered by the prosecution -- the

videotape -- has been altered,” along with other claims of misconduct

by the prosecution, according to Superior Court documents.

Cavallo also filed a motion to overturn the search warrant that

produced the tape.

Gregory Haidl, 18, Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, both 19, are

accused of raping an unconscious 16-year-old girl in Don Haidl’s

Corona del Mar home in July 2002. All three have pleaded not guilty

to 24 felony counts. Their attorneys have said that the sex was

consensual.

Cavallo said Friday that two of his experts have concluded that 17

minutes and 38 seconds of the tape were missing.

The videotaped sexual encounter depicts the three men penetrating

the victim with bottles, cigarettes and a pool stick on a pool table.

That tape is now the key piece of evidence in the trial.

“My experts say that tape was altered,” Cavallo said. “If it is

found that it has been tampered with, that means, in essence, that

the government has a partial tape, or a partial story. And I would

think that you would need a complete story to present to the jury.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Susan Schroeder said this latest effort was a

repeat of other attempts to “throw out the incriminating evidence.”

“The court has already ruled that the tape is admissible,”

Schroeder said. “They are just trying to regurgitate all the motions

they have previously filed, which have been denied, and we expect the

court to deny this one as well.”

The Haidl defense team has statements from film expert Jerry

Goffe, from Albuquerque, N.M., who states that “artifacts” found on

the videotape suggest “some sort of manipulation and editing of the

tape has taken place.”

Digital cinematographer, Joseph Micalizzi, also states in a

declaration, “scenes have been deleted such that the video tape... is

not an accurate or complete depiction of what occurred at the time

the original videotape was made.”

Copies of the original tape were made for the defense, in

accordance to discovery, and the district attorney’s office to make

sure nothing happened to the original, Schroeder said. She dismissed

any implication that the prosecution manipulated the evidence.

“The tape has not been tampered with at all,” she said. “All we

have done is press play.”

Schroeder said her office will file a response motion in the

coming weeks and intends to proceed with all criminal counts against

the accused.

The case will be back in the courtroom March 16, when a judge is

expected to rule on the most recent motions. If convicted, the three

men face up to 55 years and four months in state prison.

* LOLITA HARPER is the community forum editor. She also writes

columns Wednesdays and Fridays. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275

or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.