Teen ends 2004 in jail, facing retrial

Marisa O’Neil

Depending upon whom you talk to, Greg Haidl is a misunderstood teen,

a spoiled brat mired in self-pity, a caring boy who has volunteered

his time to those in need or a cold-hearted rapist.

No matter what you think of Haidl, one thing is indisputable -- he

made headlines this year in the Daily Pilot and elsewhere.

The 19-year-old son of prominent businessman and Corona del Mar

resident Don Haidl is accused -- along with two friends -- of

gang-raping an allegedly unconscious 16-year-old girl and assaulting

her with different objects, including a lighted cigarette, on a pool

table at a party at his father’s home in 2002.

The case generated even more attention because the incident was

videotaped and because of Don Haidl’s position as Orange County

Assistant Sheriff until his retirement in September.

All of that added up to a media-ready trial this year, even making

it to prime time on CBS’s “48 Hours.”

The story has had definite impact on the community, even those who

do not know the Haidl family.

“It has sex, violence and political power,” Corona del Mar

resident Barry Allen said. “Obviously it’s going to gain the

attention of people.”

The first trial, which lasted a month, ended in a hung jury that

leaned toward acquittal on the major counts. Prosecutors will start

retrying the case in January.

Some who wrote letters to the editor believed that Greg Haidl --

along with Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, both now 20 -- were tried

in the press before the case even hit the jury.

Other people contended that even Don Haidl and the rest of his

family were tried by the media and the public.

“If it were any other teenager, it wouldn’t be such a big deal,”

Huntington Beach resident Rose Campolito said of the significant news

coverage Greg Haidl received. “I hate to see people being so

judgmental. I think a lot of people with teenagers of their own were

saying: ‘Aren’t these terrible parents? Isn’t he the worst kid

around?’ If everyone’s problems were printed on the front page of the

newspaper, they wouldn’t look so swift either. I think it’s 99%

because of his father’s job and the fact he has money.”

Don Haidl resigned from his volunteer position as a high-ranking

official in the Sheriff’s Department in an attempt to ease the

pressure and attention he feels his position has brought on his son

as he goes into the second trial.

But the spotlight continues to shine on Greg Haidl, more than

co-defendants Nachreiner and Spann. While they have stayed out of the

headlines for the most part, the younger Haidl has remained in the

media’s glare through a series of run-ins with police, including

trespassing and the alleged statutory rape of another 16-year-old

girl.

Then, in November, a judge revoked Greg Haidl’s bail after he was

involved in an alcohol-related crash in Santa Ana.

Greg Haidl’s attorneys argued in court during the bail hearing the

teen got lost on his way home from his friend’s house and had not

been drinking. But hours later, his doctor testified that Greg Haidl

told him he drank part of a beer and took a large number of

tranquilizers and muscle relaxants before getting behind the wheel

that night.

The teen checked into a hospital for depression the day after the

crash.

Despite his attorneys’ attempts to let him stay there, he was

ordered to the Orange County Jail.

While in jail, sheriff’s deputies shot him with a stun gun after

he allegedly became argumentative.

Through it all, Don Haidl has stuck by his son, who volunteered

his time in a thrift store and tried to take classes at a local

college before the attention forced him to quit both, the elder Haidl

said.

“The Greg I know doesn’t have a mean bone in his body,” Don Haidl

told the Daily Pilot in May.

“When he sees blood on TV, he jerks his head away. If you raise

your voice at him, tears would roll down his face.

“I don’t know what went wrong. Every day, I look back and ask the

same question: What could I have done to change this?”

That parental support without proper discipline, some say, has

enabled Greg Haidl to repeatedly get into trouble.

“I see him as more of a victim than I did before,” Balboa Island

resident Susan Merrihew said.

“He’s a victim of circumstances and how he was raised.

“He has been able to continue to be a victim through enablers like

his parents and the police, being allowed to have a driver’s license

and being out in public. Unfortunately, his situation got passed on

[to Jane Doe].”

Costa Mesa resident Anna Rasmussen, who at 21 is close to the same

age as the parties involved in the case, said she has followed Greg

Haidl’s story closely.

The fact that Greg Haidl is starting the year and the second trial

in jail should show him that “not all the money in the world may get

you out of trouble,” she said.

His family, however, is hoping to soon have the Greg they know and

love back and put the attention behind them.

“As you can imagine this has caused a tremendous strain on our

family,” his aunt, Corona del Mar resident Peggy Haidl, said.

“Keep in mind, a person is innocent until proven guilty, and we

have faith that the justice system will prevail.

“We hope for a quick resolution, so we can get our lives and

privacy back.”