Zoloft defense fails in Calif. cop's rape case

This photo taken April 13,2010 Anthony Orban sits in a Rancho Cucamonga courtroom during a bail hearing. / Joshua Sudock,AP Photo/The Orange County Register

(AP) RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. - A California jury on Tuesday found that a former police detective who blamed the antidepressant Zoloft for his behavior was sane when he abducted and raped a waitress at gunpoint.

Jurors delivered their findings in the case of 32-year-old Anthony Nicholas Orban in San Bernardino County Superior Court, according to the district attorney's office.

Jurors previously convicted the former Westminster police detective of raping a waitress in a brutal attack that began outside a mall in 2010.

Prosecutors say the off-duty officer used his service weapon to force the woman to drive to a self-storage lot, where he sexually assaulted her and shoved a gun in her mouth. The woman escaped when Orban was distracted by an incoming cellphone call, prosecutors said.

Orban's attorney had argued that his client could not be held responsible for his actions because he was taking the antidepressant Zoloft, which had rendered him effectively unconscious at the time of the attack.

Orban, who served in the Marines in Iraq, had pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity to eight counts, including kidnapping and rape. He will now be scheduled to appear before a judge for a sentencing hearing, and could face a life sentence.

[BippityBoppityBlue]

Orban you gonna know, real soon, what it's like to get something "shoved" into your mouth, when you find yourself the boy-toy of some hairy stinky Bubba who shares a cell with you. No one will come to your defense then, either.

Get you some Zoloft, boy. You gonna need it, you freak.

[gryphon501]

and predictably, there are a couple of men on here supporting this guy even though he definitely committed the crime!

[Concerned2009]

The larger question, what kind of ethics does his attorney have such that he would present the "pill defense". Got it ..... none! Why would the judge allow such a defense? Glad this guy was convicted!
Citizens need to understand they are responsible for their actions even while under medication.
Obviously, this has nothing to do with politics, community or military service! Why even go there in the first place. Simply a moron who violently raped a woman, blamed his meds, and fortunately got convicted!

[realpatriot1776]

consider why when a child is raped they call it Molestation, (which is an act of merely annoying or irritating) but here with an adult victim it is Rape, which is worse ?, there are cases where an adult, flashes a child (molest) and the prosecutors use the same term in Sandusky's rape trial "Child Molester", he Raped the Children for Christ sake, ask any Rape victim if they have felt molested, and they will tell you where to go.

[implodeor]

every time i read about a crime there is some guy who takes the side of the bad guy. you said you nothing about this case. whats to know? a woman was raped. you seem to be saying maybe he raped her for good reason and fye antidepressants don't have this effect so if your looking for a good excuse for your actions look somewhere else

[implodeor]

in case your wondering im actually aware of the effects of these meds and i meant fyi in my last post. this guy is safer in prison

[jyez07420]

no dimwit, i'm a psychiatrist and i've seen people get psychotic on meds like zoloft and even steroids. others on meds like zoloft or triazolam do things they wouldn't dream of in million years and do god-awful things. zoloft can flip a person into mania. enlighten yourself and read. you don't know any of the circumstances of the case, none of us does, yet here everyone sits making judgments based on no information. i've seen people so crazy they try to kill their mothers or fathers because they believe that god is telling them to. i know you simple minded knee jerks can't handle anything that is outside your own little worlds, but until you know the full story, back off.

[jyez07420]

and the torches and pitchfork crowd hits the web. you know nothing about this case or the potential effects of antidepressants. until you do keep your yaps shut, or crawl back under your rocks with all the other ugly creatures that enjoy darkness.

[implodeor]

let me guess you raped someone while on zoloft? your right there's no need for anyone to be angry about being raped or having a gun put in their mouth.

[WilliamKus]

He learned his behavior in the Marines. This was only the first time he was caught.

Most women won't ever report something like this because it would ruin their entire life.

He could have been doing this nightly and nobody will ever know.

[FormerUSMCSergeant]

Total scumbag who the Marines taught nothing.

[steve5712]

cops complain about defendants getting off on technicalities but they sure aren't shy about trying it for themselves!

[wmdmia]

You wonder how many women he raped in Iraq and if that is where he got his start. Just like Viet Nam we have the long term consequences of imposed war on our young men and woman. I doubt that Bush and Cheney will ever understand or care about the aftereffect of this war crime they committed.

[Mays2011]

@ mallorydavis
please elaborate-and make relevant points...