Doctors differ in diagnoses

Deepa Bharath

The prosecution in a gang-rape trial involving the son of an Orange

County assistant sheriff presented witnesses on Tuesday to rebut

defense theories that the girl was conscious during the alleged

assault and did not suffer injuries as a result of it.

Greg Haidl, son of Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, Kyle

Nachreiner and Keith Spann are accused of raping an unconscious

16-year-old girl and sexually assaulting her with various objects as

she lay on a pool table in the garage of the Haidls’ Corona del Mar

home.

Prosecutors say the three teenagers gave the girl, identified only

as Jane Doe, a mixed drink after which she recalled nothing about the

night of July 5, 2002. The defendants also made a video of the

incident, which has been played for jurors and witnesses several

times.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Dan Hess on Tuesday brought to the stand

neurologist Peter Fotinakes to counter testimony of the defense’s

Harris Fisk, who said the girl appeared to be in a conscious state

and aware of her surroundings.

Fotinakes refuted Fisk’s opinion as he watched the tape and told

jurors he was looking at “a very intoxicated person who is making

occasional random movements which are not well-directed.” When the

girl appears to be brushing her hair away from her face in the video,

all she is doing is flopping her hand over her face, he said.

Her position on the pool table as the teenagers inserted a Snapple

bottle, a fruit juice can, a lighted cigarette and a pool cue, was

consistent with the appearance of women under anesthesia, Fotinakes

said.

“It’s not a voluntary position,” he said.

Fotinakes also said the girl urinating in the end of the tape was

a clear indication that she had no control over what she did. The

doctor, who said he watched the entire tape, said the girl seemed to

be intoxicated in the beginning even when she was sitting on the

couch talking to the boys.

“She’s very intoxicated then,” he said. “Her speech is slurred.”

Minutes later, when the boys manipulate her body to perform the

sexual acts, she seems “flaccid,” Fotinakes said.

“She’s flopping around like a rag doll,” he observed.

Something “very potent” got into her system, Fotinakes said.

“It was fast-acting,” he said. It could have either been a drug or

simply excessive alcohol that left her in an intoxicated state, the

doctor said.

As Nachreiner’s attorney John Barnett cross-examined Fotinakes,

the doctor emphasized that this was “basic stuff” and that it didn’t

take an expert to see what was going on in the videotape.

“Use your common sense,” he said, looking at jurors.

Barnett tried to establish through his questioning that it is not

possible for anyone to come to a conclusion about what caused the

girl’s apparent unresponsiveness. Barnett suggested the lack of

response could have been caused by a psychogenic illness as opposed

to a fast-acting drug.

The prosecution also recalled another witness, Astrid Heger, a

doctor who examined Jane Doe days after the incident. Prosecutors

brought in the doctor to rebut the testimony of defense witness

Marvin Corman, an expert in colorectal surgery who said he did not

observe any anal injuries to Jane Doe as he looked at a videotape of

her examination by nurses.

Corman testified that the apparent injury or cut that was seen on

the tape was caused by the nurses who inappropriately used a cotton

swab to examine the girl.

Heger said on Tuesday that cotton swabs are routinely used in such

cases and can even be found in so-called rape kits. The doctor

brought one such kit with her to court to show the jury. Heger said

she does not believe the injury was caused by the swab but that it

was already there.

The defense presented James Truong, a doctor who examined Jane Doe

after the incident. Truong testified that he did not see any apparent

injuries and that the girl did not complain of any pain except for a

sore throat and a bruise behind her ear.

Testimony will continue on Thursday. Today, the judge is scheduled

to hear a defense motion alleging prosecutorial misconduct, saying

that Hess inappropriately showed the videotape submitted into

evidence to a new witness.

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or at deepa.bharath@latimes.com.