A young straight man told a jury June 16 that murder suspect Philong Huynh gave him “a relaxing pill” and he later woke up in a Tijuana motel without any money and apparently had been raped.
The story by Ryan, now 23, is similar to two other stories by two other young straight men who claimed they were also assaulted by Huynh, 40, who is charged with killing Dane Williams, 23, in 2008. Ryan’s last name is withheld because he is a sexual assault victim.
Huynh is gay and has been accused of drugging young straight men and sexually assaulting them. Williams, of Huntington Beach, was found dead in Jan., 2008, about 800 feet from Huynh’s City Heights apartment three days after he vanished from the Gaslamp Quarter.
Ryan told the seven man five woman jury he was 19 years old when the incident occurred with Huynh, who worked with him at Southern California Images, a firm that produced gay porn. Huynh was a photo editor and ran the firm’s Web site.
Ryan said he only worked there 3-4 months in 2007 and performed “solo jerk off” sequences. He said he was asked to have sex with men, but was straight and couldn’t get an erection so he only did solo scenes.
“It’s not exactly (a job) you want to put on a resume,” he said. “At the time, it was the only money without a college degree.”
Ryan testified Huynh had invited him to go to Tijuana many times and the company’s owners had warned him that Huynh had a reputation for spiking drinks and having sex with young men. Ryan said he didn’t believe it.
He testified that Huynh took him to a Tijuana bar “with very scantily clad girls” and purchased alcoholic drinks for him. Ryan said he accompanied Huynh to a motel room that Huynh wanted to use as his headquarters while bar hopping.
Ryan said he saw Huynh with a bag of pills and Huynh mixed “a relaxing pill” with water. “He said it was Ecstasy. I asked him to drink it first.” He said Huynh appeared to drink a sip and then handed it to him.
“I don’t remember a thing until the next morning,” said Ryan.
Ryan said he woke up with his shirt off, his pants pulled down slightly, and was face down on a bed. He said he noticed a “buttery, oily” substance on his anus.
Huynh was gone and Ryan had no wallet, identification or cash. “He was nowhere to be found. I was up the river without a paddle,” he said.
Ryan said he had no money for a taxi to take him to the border. He said he tried to get a ride with someone who later asked him to smuggle drugs, and he took off after hearing that. He said he walked all day to get back to the U.S.
Ryan said he never returned to his job and neither did Huynh. He called Huynh repeatedly, but his cell phone number eventually became disconnected.
“I was embarrassed. It was the worst thing that had happened to me,” said Ryan.
Prosecutors told the jury that Huynh had attended two years of medical school and took courses about pharmaceutical drugs and their effects on the body.
Huynh is also accused of sexually assaulting a 20-year-old sailor in 2009 who was also drugged. The sailor testified he woke up in Huynh’s apartment fully clothed, but his underwear was missing.
Huynh’s defense began on Monday in San Diego Superior Court. He remains in the central jail without bail.
I’m gay Asian and I think this guy is just pure evil. I hope he gets the death penalty.