Neurologist in rape trial says Doe unaware

Marisa O’Neil

The alleged victim in a high-profile gang-rape case was so

intoxicated that she appeared flaccid and “like a rag doll” on a

videotape of the incident, a neurologist testified in court Tuesday.

The prosecution’s last witness, Dr. Peter Fotinakes, testified

that the movements of Jane Doe, as the then 16-year-old is known in

court, were involuntary responses to multiple stimuli. Those stimuli,

according to prosecutors, include a rape and sexual assault with

various objects by defendants Kyle Nachreiner and Keith Spann, both

now 20, and 19-year-old Greg Haidl, son of a former Orange County

assistant sheriff.

Doe’s apparent lack of conscious response indicates a “significant

level” of intoxication, Fotinakes said.

“She does not know what’s going on in her environment, except that

she’s getting prodded and poked and [is] responding,” Fotinakes said.

Prosecutors contend that Doe passed out after drinking a beer and

8 1/2 ounces of 94-proof gin at a July 5, 2002, party at the Corona

del Mar home of Haidl’s father, Don Haidl, and was raped by the three

defendants. They are accused of sexually assaulting her on a pool

table.

They face up to 23 years in prison if convicted.

A trial of the case ended last year with a hung jury. In that

case, defense attorneys argued that Doe was feigning unconsciousness

and was able to move on her own.

On Tuesday, Fotinakes, who is co-medical director at St. Joseph

Sleep Disorder Center in Orange, went through the videotape the

defendants made of the incident. It was the second time members of

the jury saw the roughly 20-minute segment.

The tape has not been shown to the courtroom observers.

Doe’s movements on the tape were random, involuntary responses to

stimuli -- like someone momentarily roused from sleep -- Fotinakes

said. Without assistance from the defendants during various sex acts,

she appeared unable to support herself and appeared like a rag doll,

he said.

“At the very beginning [of the video] is the last time we hear

Jane Doe say anything,” he said. “Throughout the video she appears to

be asleep.”

Joseph Cavallo, attorney for Greg Haidl, pointed out that Doe did

not appear to move away during the assault. Her level of

intoxication, Fotinakes said, may have prevented her from doing so.

Her level of intoxication remains unclear, even following

testimony Tuesday morning by Martin Breen, a forensic scientist

specializing in the effects of alcohol for the Orange County

Sheriff-Coroner.

At a July 4, 2002, party, Doe drank somewhere between eight and 10

shots of alcohol, plus three mixed drinks, according to various

testimony.

Chief Assistant Dist. Atty. Chuck Middleton asked Breen to

estimate her blood alcohol limit based on 10 half-ounce and 10

one-ounce shots of liquor. That would place her blood alcohol level

between .12% and .24% -- as high as three times the .08% legal limit

for driving. On the night of the alleged assault, July 5, when

prosecutors say she passed out, her level would likely have been

closer to .26%, Breen said.

That could be enough to cause her to pass out, he said.

John Barnett, attorney for Nachreiner, asked Breen to estimate her

intoxication based on a much larger amount of alcohol. That amount

was based on an earlier memo from the district attorney’s office

specifying that she had drunk more than the 10 shots, Barnett said.

If those amounts were correct, Breen said, her blood alcohol level

on July 4 would have been .68%.

“I’d expect her to die from an overdose [with a blood alcohol

level of .68%],” Breen said.

Defense attorneys contend that Doe drank more on July 4 than on

the night of the alleged assault and was able to function and recall

events.

Cross examination of Fotinakes, the prosecution’s last witness, is

expected to finish today. The defense is expected to start presenting

its case on Monday.

* MARISA O’NEIL covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4618 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil @latimes.com.