South OC Lawyer Accused Of Raping Girlfriend's Best Friend At Knifepoint

A 40-year-old lawyer wielding his grandfather's military knife raped his girlfriend's best friend in Laguna Hills following a night of drinking, a prosecutor told jurors Monday, but the defendant's attorney said his client's accuser lied to save her lifelong friendship.

Devon Randall Haugan is charged with two counts of rape and single counts each of sexual penetration by foreign object and force and forcible oral copulation, all felonies.

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Haugan is accused of raping a woman May 27, 2023, in his aunt and uncle's home at 25532 Saddle Rock Place, according to Deputy District Attorney Bonnie Nicole Micheil.

Haugan is a licensed lawyer in Washington state and was studying to pass the bar in California when he was accused of raping the victim, his attorney, Nicholas Valk of the Orange County Public Defender's Office said.

The accuser testified she has been "super close" friends with Haugan's girlfriend at the time since elementary school.

The alleged victim flew in to John Wayne Airport from Alaska to visit May 26, 2023. Haugan and his girlfriend had been together for about five years at the time, and had recently moved back into the home of his aunt and uncle, Micheil said.

The defendant's girlfriend and the accuser went shopping at Irvine Spectrum and the three spent some time in a jacuzzi when they returned home, Micheil said.

The alleged victim had last been in town to visit her friend for Halloween, she said. There was some awkwardness with Haugan because of a conflict during that time, she added.

"It was a little uncomfortable to start," the woman testified. "I didn't feel it was fully resolved."

The three dined at a Mexican restaurant and drank margaritas, the accuser testified. They then bought a speaker to listen to music while enjoying a bonfire at Huntington Beach, she said. After that they went to a bar across the street in Huntington Beach, but moved on to another one when Haugan was asked to leave the first bar.

When they got home just before 1 a.m., the accuser went to bed feeling "intoxicated," she testified.

"It was blurry at that point," she said.

She woke up at some point to "someone in my room," she testified. "Devon was in there. ... I did not know why someone would be in my space. ... I believe I asked him why was he in there?"

Haugan, she testified, declared, "that he was going to rape me. I said, no, and I got up."

She said she "yelled and started to get up," but Haugan "put his hand over my mouth and tried to contain me.:

The two "ended up tussling, fighting together," she testified.

The accuser said she scrambled to think of strategies to get away, saying she needed to relieve herself and get some water.

"He took me by my hair to do it," she testified. "He would not let me do it myself. He made me drink water from the faucet with my hand."

The defendant led her back to her room and she tried other ways to dissuade him, she testified.

"I brought up my daughter to try to appeal to that side of him," she tearfully testified with a service dog for comfort at her side. "I said I wanted to get home. That's what I told him. I wanted to get home to my daughter."

She also said she was expecting a call from her mother.

"He seemed oddly calm" as he threatened to sexually assault her, she testified.

Micheil said the defendant had her undress and stuffed her face down in the bedding, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Haugan allegedly led her back to a bathroom when she said she needed to relieve herself, Micheil said.

The defendant then allegedly sexually assaulted her with his fingers and when she again asked to use the bathroom he let her leave on her own and she dashed upstairs to her friend saying Haugan had assaulted her, Micheil said.

The alleged victim was "crying, hysterical, shaking," Micheil said.

The defendant's DNA was found on the accuser's private parts, the prosecutor said.

Investigators also recovered the knife in the house and the DNA of Haugan and the accuser was on it, Micheil said.

Valk, the defense attorney, contended the accuser had consensual sex with the defendant and when they were caught she made up the rape allegation.

"To escape responsibility for sleeping with her best friend's boyfriend she cried rape ... to mask the ultimate betrayal," Valk said.

The accuser "after a night of drinking," made a "desperate attempt to cover up her mistake," Valk said.

"To save her friendship she decided to ruin a man's life," the defense attorney said.

Haugan moved in with his aunt and uncle in 1996 because he could no longer live with his alcoholic mother, Valk said. The couple raised him, he said.

In 2004, he moved to Washington to attend college, Valk said. In 2017, Haugan met his girlfriend while going to law school, Valk said.

In 2020, Haugan moved back in with his aunt and uncle in Laguna Hills, Valk said.

Haugan was struggling with doubt and stress as he studied to pass the California bar exam, Valk said. Haugan had taken to cutting himself with his grandfather's knife to relieve stress, according to the attorney.

Haugan had gone downstairs the night of the alleged assaults to find a private spot in the home to cut himself because he knew his girlfriend was aware of the problem and would stop him, Valk said.

Haugan heard the family's elderly dog and went to comfort the pet when the accuser heard them and then comforted Haugan, Valk said. The two went back into her room and attempted to have sex, but the defendant was too drunk to get aroused, Valk said.

Two hours later the two were "caught" and the accuser "immediately blames Devon," Valk said.