Haidl 6-6-6: Defense still victimizing the victim

Briseno called it: the defendants' claims of remorse were indeed insincere.

In the morning we heard the defendants and their supporters apologize to Jane Doe and her family. They offered help. They promised to change. They took responsibility.

A few hours later, before sentencing the Haidl 3, Judge Briseno said he attributed the remorse to “self-pity” because they were so likely headed to prison. And indeed, when he sentenced the Haidl 3 to six years each in a state prison–plus lifetime registration as sex offenders–the awkward honeymoon was over.

Speaking at the post-sentencing press conference, Haidl attorney Al Stokke said, “Yes, we will appeal the sentence and the conviction.”

He went on to say that his client, who will serve just 21 months of actual prison time, “is a very mature person now.”

John Barnett, attorney for Kyle Nachreiner, took the microphone next. “Everybody lost today. There were no victors,” he complained. “It's hard to put a pretty face on state prison for teenagers.” Nachreiner is now 21.

But Keith Spann's attorney, Peter Morreale, pulled out the sharpest knife. He called Judge Briseno's sentence “a bit excessive,” then called him an excellent judge and took aim at District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. It was not Spann who should be ashamed, he said, but the DA. “The way the prosecutor's office pursued this matter was unconscionable,” Morreale said. “There was a political agenda that drove this case. A lot of politics were involved. It should have been handled professionally.” In answer to a reporter's question, he called the prosecution “a witch hunt.” He blamed the DA for “dragging everyone through the mud, including the victim.”

It was Morreale who, in court, famously asked Jane Doe if she liked to swallow after oral sex.

Sheldon Lodmer, the civil lawyer for Jane Doe, applauded the DA, saying Rackauckas showed “a lot of fortitude.” He said the defense had lost the trial in part because of “dastardly attacks on my client.” He said Jane Doe and her family were pleased that the judge sentenced the Haidl 3 to state prison, but had not had time to digest the prison terms.

Assistant DA Chuck Middleton, who won the second trial, shot back at the defense. “Even today,” the prosecutor said, “the defense is still victimizing the victim.” He said he had hoped for longer sentences.

DA Rackauckas said, “This case captured the county and the country's attention because of the defense's relentless and ruthless win-at-all-costs actions before, during and after the trial.”