O.C. Gang-Rape Suspects Will Be Retried

Legal experts and lawyers who followed the high-profile case said they expected a second trial but cautioned prosecutors to take cues from the first jury -- which leaned toward acquittal on nearly every charge -- when restructuring the case.

The key evidence against the defendants, a videotape the youths made of the July 2002 incident, may have falsely lulled prosecutors into thinking a conviction was inevitable, said former federal prosecutor Laurie L. Levenson.

"People really have to learn the lesson that videotapes don't tell the whole story," she said. "You cannot assume that just because there's a videotape of very disturbing conduct that it's going to result in a conviction."

Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas told a television news station that he could not imagine not pursuing a retrial.

"We've got a young girl, she's unconscious and she's being raped. We're going to retry the case," he told KCAL-TV Channel 9. "Regardless of the politics, I have a duty, and this office has a duty, to stand up and do what's right."

Rackauckas said prosecutors may retool the charges against the three defendants. For the first trial, they were charged with rape by intoxication, rape by force and assault with a deadly weapon.

Gregory Scott Haidl, Kyle Joseph Nachreiner and Keith James Spann, all 19, could have been sent to prison for up to 55 years each had they been convicted on all 24 counts. All three, and the alleged victim -- referred to as Jane Doe during the trial -- lived in Rancho Cucamonga at the time of the incident, at the Corona del Mar home of Orange County Assistant Sheriff Don Haidl, the defendant's father.

The defendants on Monday expressed relief that they had not been convicted, tempered by the knowledge that prosecutors would probably retry the case. One defense lawyer said Tuesday that Rackauckas made his decision too hastily.

"He's doing it for political reasons without considering what the jurors said," said Haidl's lead lawyer, Joseph G. Cavallo. He expressed optimism, though, saying he and the other defense attorneys held back some of their evidence and witnesses, understanding the possibility of having to retry the case after a mistrial.