UPn 07/13 1943 McMartin jury ends first week of deliberations with... McMartin jury ends f
UPn 07/13 1943 McMartin jury ends first week of deliberations with...
McMartin jury ends first week of deliberations without verdict
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Jurors in the McMartin Pre-School molestation case ended
their first week of deliberations Friday without reaching verdicts in the
retrial of Raymond Buckey.
The Superior Court jury of seven women and five men went home for the weekend
after completing their fifth day of deliberations.
Due back Monday, the jurors are not being sequestered, but were once again
advised by Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg to avoid exposure to any media
coverage of the retrial.
Buckey, 32, is being retried on eight molestation charges stemming from the
alleged sexual abuse of three girls at the now-closed Virginia McMartin
Pre-School in Manhattan Beach from 1979 until 1983.
He testified he is innocent of the charges and has never molested any child.
At the end of his first trial, Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey,
63, were acquitted in January of 52 other molestation counts stemming from the
alleged sexual abuse of 11 children.
The first jury deadlocked on the eight charges on which Buckey was retried.
The verdicts in January climaxed a trial that lasted nearly three years and
cost $13.2 million, making it the longest, costliest criminal trial in U.S.
history.
The retrial, greatly reduced in scope, has lasted just over three months.
If convicted, Buckey could be sentenced to up to 22 years in state prison.
The nearly five years he spent in custody following his 1984 arrest would be
taken off that total.
The case was the largest sex abuse case in U.S. history when the county grand
jury handed down its initial indictments in March 1984. But five co-defendants,
including Buckey's sister and grandmother, and dozens of charges against them
were dismissed prior to the first trial for insufficient evidence.
APn 07/20 2218 Preschool Molest
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The jury deciding the fate of the last defendant in the
McMartin Pre-School child molestation case reached its first sealed verdict
Friday, and resumed deliberations on the seven remaining charges.
Jurors in Raymond Buckey's second trial heard nearly three months of
testimony, and have been discussing the case for two weeks.
The panelists appeared to be following the same procedure used by the jury in
Buckey's first trial earlier this year. That jury submitted separate verdicts in
sealed envelopes, but none was announced until all the verdicts were reached.
A clerk for Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg said the first verdict was
sealed and would remain that way for the time being. Jurors were told to
continue their talks.
Buckey, 32, is charged with molesting three young girls at his family's
Manhattan Beach nursery school in the early 1980s. He and his mother, Peggy
McMartin Buckey, 63, were acquitted of 52 molestation charges last Jan. 18 after
a trial lasting nearly three years.
The jury in that trial deadlocked on 13 counts against Buckey alone, and
District Attorney Ira Reiner decided to retry him on eight of those charges.
In the second trial, the prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of the
three girls, now teen-agers, who had trouble remembering events alleged to have
occurred when they were toddlers. However, they said Buckey molested them.
Buckey took the witness stand and swore he never molested any children.
Earlier this week, jurors asked to hear again the testimony of a British
doctor who testified for the defense. It took nearly three days for a court
stenographer to read them Dr. David Paul's testimony. The reading ended
Thursday.
UPn 07/21 0014 Buckey jury returns first sealed verdict
By MICHAEL D. HARRIS
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Jurors in the retrial of Raymond Buckey reached their
first verdict Friday, but it was sealed and they were ordered to continue
deliberating seven other counts against the former McMartin Pre-School teacher.
The Superior Court jury returned its single verdict on its 10th day of
deliberations in the once-massive molestation case.
In ordering the verdict sealed, Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg said he
will not have any of the verdicts announced until jurors reach a decision on all
eight counts.
The jury recessed for the weekend late Friday afternoon without reaching any
additional verdicts. The panel, which is not being sequestered, is scheduled to
resume its deliberations Monday.
Buckey, 32, is being retried on the charges stemming from the alleged sexual
abuse of three girls at the now-closed Virginia McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan
Beach from 1979 until 1983.
He has steadfastly maintained his innocence.
Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, 63, were acquitted in January
at the end of the first trial in the case of 52 other molestation counts
stemming from the alleged sexual abuse of 11 children.
Jurors at the first trial deadlocked on the eight counts on which Buckey is
being retried.
The verdicts in January climaxed a trial that lasted nearly three years and
cost $13.2 million, making it the longest, costliest criminal trial in U.S.
history.
The retrial, greatly reduced in scope, has lasted over three months.
If convicted, Buckey could be sentenced to up to 22 years in state prison.
The nearly five years he spent in custody following his 1984 arrest would be
subtracted from that total.
The case was the largest sex abuse case in U.S. history when the county grand
jury handed down its initial indictments in March 1984. But five co-defendants,
including Buckey's sister and grandmother, and dozens of charges were dismissed
because of insufficient evidence.
APn 07/21 0531 Preschool Molest
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A jury deliberating the fate of the only remaining
defendant in the 7-year-old McMartin Pre-School molestation case has returned
its first sealed verdict and resumed consideration of seven other charges.
"It's almost like waiting to wonder if you're going to get the electric chair
or if they're going to let you go," Raymond Buckey told reporters Friday after
the first verdict was delivered.
Jurors in Buckey's second trial heard nearly three months of testimony and
have been discussing the case for two weeks.
The jury appeared to be following the same procedure used by the jury in
Buckey's first trial, which ended earlier this year. That jury submitted
separate verdicts in sealed envelopes, but none was announced until all of the
verdicts were reached.
A clerk in the court of Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg said the first
verdict was sealed and would remain that way for the time being. Jurors were
told to continue their talks.
Buckey, 32, is charged with molesting three young girls at his family's
now-defunct Manhattan Beach nursery school in the early 1980s. He and his
mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, 63, were acquitted of 52 molestation charges on
Jan. 18 after a trial lasting nearly three years.
The jury in that trial deadlocked on 13 counts against Buckey alone, and
District Attorney Ira Reiner decided to retry him on eight of those charges.
In the second trial, the prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of the
three girls, now in adolescence, who had trouble remembering events alleged to
have occurred when they were toddlers. However, they said Buckey molested them.
Buckey took the witness stand and swore he never molested any children.
The case is the nation's longest criminal court proceeding.
UPn 07/23 2046 McMartin deadlock averted; jury to press on in deli...
McMartin deadlock averted; jury to press on in deliberations
By MICHAEL C. TIPPING
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Jurors in the McMartin Pre-School molestation retrial
said Monday they could not reach verdicts on six of the eight charges against
Raymond Buckey, but the judge ordered them to press on in their deliberations.
The jury on Monday also reached a verdict on a second charge against the
former nursery teacher. That verdict remained sealed, as did a first verdict
reached Friday.
About midway through their 11th day of discussion, the jury sent a note to
the judge saying, "We have gone through all eight counts twice and reached
verdicts on only two. We appear to be hung on six counts."
But Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg encouraged the jurors to keep
working to reach unanimous decisions on all eight counts. About 15 minutes later
he excused them for the day. They will return Tuesday morning for a 12th day of
deliberations.
Buckey, suntanned and smiling at times, said his ordeal had left him
"basically tired."
"I just want it to end, like everyone else," he said. Declining to speculate
what the jury might be thinking, Buckey said. "Of course I'm optimistic because
I know the truth of my innocence."
Buckey, 32, is accused of molesting three young girls at the now-closed
Virginia McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan Beach from 1979 until 1983. The former
preschool teacher has steadfastly maintained his innocence.
At the end of a marathon first trial in January, Buckey and his mother, Peggy
McMartin Buckey, 63, were acquitted of 52 other molestation counts involving a
total of 11 children.
The first jury deadlocked on the eight counts on which Buckey is being
retried.
The verdicts in January climaxed a trial that lasted nearly three years and
cost $13.2 million, making it the longest, costliest criminal trial in U.S.
history. The greatly scaled down retrial has lasted more than three months.
If convicted, Buckey could be sentenced to up to 22 years in state prison. He
would be credited for the nearly five years he spent in custody following his
1984 arrest.
The core of the prosecution was the testimony of the three girls, who said
Buckey molested them, forced them to play sex games such as "Naked Movie Star"
and frightened them into silence.
But when pressed by defense lawyer Danny Davis for details of the alleged sex
abuse, all three girls repeatedly said, "I don't remember."
From the beginning, the defense has argued that the children were brainwashed
by overzealous therapists at the Children's Institute International in Los
Angeles. The therapists, the defense argued, manipulated the children into
leveling false allegations.
The girls, now ages 14, 12, and 11, were allegedly molested when they were
ages 2 to 5.
During his cross-examination of the girls, Davis noted that their testimony
at the retrial often contradicted testimony they gave at the first trial and in
videotaped interviews with the child therapists.
The county grand jury handed down its initial indictments containing scores
of charges in March 1984. But all charges against five co-defendants, including
Buckey's sister and grandmother, were dismissed for lack of evidence.
The preschool was closed by the state in January 1984 after the molestation
allegations surfaced. In May, it was razed to make way for an office building,
but not before a group of parents dug up the foundation in an inconclusive
search for secret tunnels mentioned by some children.
APn 07/23 2132 Preschool Molest
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The jury in the second McMartin Pre School molestation
trial announced a partial verdict Monday, but was ordered to resume
deliberations on 6 counts on which it was deadlocked.
Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg allowed jurors to go home for the
night before resuming consideration of charges that Raymond Buckey molested
three girls at his family's nursery school in the early 1980s.
Weisberg disclosed in a brief court session that jurors had asked for further
legal instruction, but didn't explain further.
Jurors had said in a foreman's note the panel had considered all eight
charges twice before concluding that they were "hung" on six counts.
The judge urged them to deliberate further, telling them, "Each of you must
decide the case for yourself and should do so after deliberating with the other
jurors."
All eight felony charges are child molestation.
Outside court, Buckey said he was nervous but optimistic.
"Of course, I'm optimistic because I know the truth of my innocence," he told
reporters.
Asked how he felt about the prospect of a third trial if the jury hopelessly
deadlocks, he said, "I think everyone is tired of the McMartin case. I think it
should end."
The jury's announcement that verdicts had been reached came at the start of
the panel's third week of deliberations in a case that has stretched over six
years with two trials and lengthy preliminary hearings.
Buckey was acquitted along with his mother of a number of other charges in
the first trial.
His second trial lasted three months, far shorter than the first, which was
the nation's longest criminal proceeding and cost Los Angeles County $13.5
million.
APn 07/23 2228 Preschool Molest
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The jury in the second McMartin Pre School molestation
trial announced it had reached a partial verdict Monday, but was ordered to
resume deliberations on 6 counts on which it was deadlocked.
Superior Court Judge Stanley M. Weisberg allowed jurors to go home for the
night before resuming consideration of charges that Raymond Buckey molested
three girls at his family's nursery school in the early 1980s.
Weisberg disclosed in a brief court session that jurors had asked for further
legal instruction, but didn't explain further.
It wasn't revealed what charges the jurors agreed on, or whether they voted
for conviction or acquittal.
Jurors had said in a foreman's note the panel had considered all eight
charges twice before concluding that they were "hung" on six counts.
The judge urged them to deliberate further, telling them, "Each of you must
decide the case for yourself and should do so after deliberating with the other
jurors."
All eight felony charges are child molestation.
Outside court, Buckey said he was nervous but optimistic.
"Of course, I'm optimistic because I know the truth of my innocence," he told
reporters.
Asked how he felt about the prospect of a third trial if the jury hopelessly
deadlocks, he said, "I think everyone is tired of the McMartin case. I think it
should end."
The jury's announcement that verdicts had been reached came at the start of
the panel's third week of deliberations in a case that has stretched over six
years with two trials and lengthy preliminary hearings.
Buckey was acquitted along with his mother of a number of other charges in
the first trial.
His second trial lasted three months, far shorter than the first, which was
the nation's longest criminal proceeding and cost Los Angeles County $13.5
million.
UPn 07/24 1658 McMartin jury asks to re-hear testimony of girl
By MICHAEL C. TIPPING
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- The jury in the McMartin Pre-School molestation case
retrial asked Tuesday to re-hear the testimony of one of the girls allegedly
sexually abused by Raymond Buckey.
The jurors' request was made as they returned to deliberations after
announcing Monday they were at an impasse on six of the eight molestation counts
facing Buckey.
In a note to the judge, the jury asked to re-hear the testimony of a girl who
said Buckey molested her when she was 2 to 4 years old. The jury also asked to
hear the testimony of the girl's mother.
Three of the eight charges stem from the alleged molestation of the girl, who
is now 11.
The seven-woman, five-man panel has reached verdicts on two charges. However,
those decisions have been kept sealed while deliberations, in their 12th day
Tuesday, continue.
On Monday, Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg had offered to give the jury
further instructions and have testimony read again if that would help them reach
unanimous agreement.
In all, Buckey, 32, is accused of molesting three girls at the now-closed
Virginia McMartin Pre-School in Manhattan Beach from 1979 until 1983. The former
preschool teacher has steadfastly maintained his innocence.
At the end of a marathon first trial in January, Buckey and his mother, Peggy
McMartin Buckey, 63, were acquitted of 52 other molestation counts involving a
total of 11 children.
The first jury deadlocked on the eight counts on which Buckey is being
retried.
The first trial lasted nearly three years and cost $13.2 million, making it
the longest, costliest criminal trial in U.S. history. The greatly scaled down
retrial has lasted more than three months.
If convicted, Buckey could be sentenced to up to 22 years in state prison. He
would be credited for the nearly five years he spent in custody following his
1984 arrest.
APn 07/27 1712 Preschool Molest
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A mistrial was declared Friday in Raymond Buckey's
molestation retrial after a jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked on eight sex
counts involving children at the McMartin Pre-School.
"We are hopelessly and irreversibly hung on all counts," the jury reported
to Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg.
Weisberg declared a mistrial on those eight counts, saying, "it is clear to
me that the jury will not reach a verdict in this .... therefore it necessitates
a mistrial in this case."
Buckey could be tried again on those counts. There was no immediate word from
District Attorney Ira Reiner's office on whether charges would be refiled and a
third trial held.
It was the latest unusual twist in the highly publicized case.
The first trial set U.S. records for time and cost, taking nearly three years
and costing the county $13.5 million.
It ended Jan. 18 when the jury acquitted Peggy McMartin Buckey, Ray's mother,
of 12 charges, and absolved her son on 40 counts. The panel was deadlocked on an
additional 13 charges against him and prosecutors went to trial for a second
time on eight counts.
In the second trial, three adolescent girls took the stand to tell about a
time when they were toddlers attending the suburban Manhattan Beach preschool.
The three girls said Buckey, 32, molested them, but they were hazy on details
and often pleaded lack of memory. One girl flatly denied that Buckey committed
the sexual acts with which he was charged. Another girl recanted testimony she
had given against Mrs. Buckey at the first trial.
------ By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
UPn 07/27 1811 mcmartin-chronology
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- The following is a chronology of key events in the
McMartin Pre-School molestation case.
--Aug. 12, 1983: The case begins as a woman with a history of mental illness
reports to Manhattan Beach police that she believes her 2 1/2-year-old son has
been molested at the Virginia McMartin Pre-School.
--Sept. 7, 1983: Pre-School teacher Raymond Buckey is arrested on suspicion
of child molestation. No formal charges are filed against him and he is released
two days later.
--January, 1984: Amid molestation allegations, the state Department of Social
Services suspends the preschool's license and the nursery is forced to close.
--March 22, 1984: Seven teachers at the school are indicted by the Los
Angeles County grand jury on charges they molested dozens of their pupils. All
seven, including Raymond Buckey and his grandmother, Virginia McMartin, are
arrested in what is the largest molestation case in U.S. history.
--Aug. 17, 1984: A preliminary hearing begins for all seven defendants.
Fourteen children eventually testify that they were molested and forced to
participate in bizarre satanic rituals and sex games.
--Jan. 9, 1986: The 18-month, $4 million hearing concludes with Municipal
Court Judge Aviva Bobb finding that there was a reasonable suspicion that the
crimes occurred and ordering all seven defendants to stand trial in Superior
Court.
--Jan. 17, 1986: Los Angeles County District Attorney Ira Reiner declines to
press prosecution against five of the defendants, saying the evidence against
them is "incredibly weak." The only defendants remaining to stand trial are
Raymond Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey.
--Jan. 23, 1986: After nearly two years behind bars, Peggy McMartin Buckey is
released on $495,000 bail.
--April 20, 1987: After numerous delays, the Buckeys' trial on 99 counts of
child molestation and one count of conspiracy, stemming from the alleged sexual
abuse of 11 children, begins with jury selection.
--Oct. 12, 1988: Citing insufficient evidence, prosecutors drop an additional
27 molestation charges against Buckey and eight against his mother.
--Feb. 15, 1989: After spending nearly five years in County Jail, Raymond
Buckey is released on a $3 million property bond.
--April 23, 1989: The McMartin trial, three days into its third year, becomes
the longest and costliest criminal trial in U.S. history.
--Jan. 18, 1990: After deliberating 36 days, jurors acquit the Buckeys of 52
molestation counts. Juror deadlock on 13 other charges against Raymond Buckey.
--Jan. 31, 1990: Following a campaign by parents outraged over the
acquittals, Reiner announces his office will retry Buckey on the deadlocked
counts.
--April 10, 1990: Buckey's retrial on eight molestation counts stemming from
the alleged sexual abuse of three children commences with jury selection.
--July 27, 1990: The jury in the retrial deadlocks and a mistrial is
declared.
APn 07/27 2018 Preschool Molest
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A mistrial was declared Friday in Raymond Buckey's second
trial on charges he molested children at the McMartin Pre-School, and
prosecutors said they wouldn't try him a third time.
The prosecutors' decision following a jury deadlock on eight sex counts ended
the longest, costliest criminal case in U.S. history.
"It is clear to me that the jury will not reach a verdict in this case on any
of the counts," Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg said in declaring the
mistrial.
Votes on seven of the eight counts leaned toward acquittal, and deputy
District Attorney Joseph Martinez said Buckey would not be tried again.
"The community has had enough. We gave it our best shot," Martinez said.
"These kids cannot be McMartin kids for the rest of their lives. It's been a
horrible experience."
Buckey said he would not be happy until Weisberg makes a final ruling at a
hearing Wednesday on whether to abide by the prosecution motion to dismiss.
"No one has won in the McMartin case, one or two," Buckey said. "I was
innocent coming in and I'm still innocent because I wasn't found guilty."
The lack of resolution was another bizarre development in the McMartin case,
which has consumed seven years of court time and cost Los Angeles County more
than $13.5 million.
During a news conference, District Attorney Ira Reiner conceded there were
"fundamental problems with the evidence in this case that go back six or seven
years."
But he said he did not regret going through with the second trial.
"The parents felt it was important there would be a resolution," he said. "I
think it's clear now there cannot be."
Defense attorney Danny Davis said the ordeal would never be over for the
parents.
"It's a horrible predicament to ... consider it didn't happen and they bought
into a circus," he said.
Even one of the most outspoken parents, who had demanded the retrial, said
she had tired of the battle.
"I really wasn't surprised," Jackie McGauley said of the mistrial. "People
are real divided on this issue. ... I feel such relief that it's over. I'd like
to get on with the work of seeing that the justice system is changed to
accommodate children."
Asked what he would do with the rest of his life, Buckey said, "I'm just
going to go on. I've learned to endure a lot of things in seven years. ... I
would like to be just left alone."
"I'll have to get a job now," he added with a smile.
Buckey's father, Charles, said he was disappointed his son was not acquitted.
"I've lost faith in the district attorney's office," he said. "Every one of
these people has lied and been very deceitful."
Divided on all counts, the jurors were unanimous on one thing: That the case
should not be tried again.
"There are too many questions, too many gaping holes and it's too much time
to spend," said juror Michael Carapella, a 25-year-old musician.
Jury Foreman Richard Dunham told the judge that an extra week of
deliberation, which came after the panel reported earlier deadlocks, only
resulted in splitting jurors further.
Early Friday, they retracted two unanimous verdicts they submitted in sealed
envelopes, reporting they were deadlocked on those counts as well.
Dunham said the panelists had divided their votes differently on the eight
counts, with the splits ranging from 6-6 to 11-1.
The jurors took the same route an earlier jury took last January, choosing
not to decide because they could not agree whether Buckey was guilty or innocent
of molesting three young girls as long as 10 years ago at his family's Manhattan
Beach preschool.
A number of jurors said they felt the crucial pieces of evidence dividing
them were the videotapes made by Childrens Institute International, in which
therapists interviewed toddlers about whether they were molested.
"The CII tapes were in my mind very bad," said Dunham. "We did not put a lot
of credibility in them. Most of us felt the techniques of the interviews were
very leading."
Another juror complained there was insufficient corroborating evidence from
witnesses other than the parents to back up the children's stories.
"All the evidence I saw in the process, to me he's not guilty," said juror
Sylvia Scrigna, 30, a bank employee.
The second, abbreviated Buckey trial had the feeling of a postscript,
following the first so closely.
Before the first trial, an 18-month preliminary hearing for seven original
defendants strained the court system and spurred calls for reform. Charges
against five defendants, all teachers, were dismissed.
The first trial was a dramatic tableau of passionate advocacy by prosecution
and defense attorneys determined to prove their points. It drew capacity
audiences of former McMartin parents as well as supporters of the defendants.
A parade of 124 witnesses testified at the first trial. In the second trial,
which lasted just three months, 46 witnesses testified.
A new duo of prosecutors seemed only mildly familiar with the facts of the
case and less obsessed with winning conviction at all costs. There were reports
they had tried to plea bargain with Buckey to avoid the second trial, a claim
they denied.
The witnesses were older and fewer. In the first trial of Buckey and his
63-year-old mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, nine children testified. The second
time, three adolescent girls took the stand to tell of the time when they were
toddlers. Often, they answered lawyers' questions, "I don't remember."
Buckey, who spent five years in jail awaiting resolution of his case before
he was released on bail, denied at both trials he ever molested any child.
The McMartin saga began in August 1983 when a mother called Manhattan Beach
police to complain that her child had been molested at the school.
Police responded by sending letters to parents suggesting they check their
children for signs of molestation. Hysteria followed, and the case ignited a
national wave of concern over molestation. Buckey, his mother, grandmother,
sister and three other teachers were arrested.
Children gave investigators accounts of "naked games," satanic rites and
animals tortured to frighten the youngsters into silence.
The first jury spent nine weeks deliberating on the 65 molestation and
conspiracy charges against the Buckeys, who were accused of molesting 11
children during a five-year period at their family-owned preschool.
On Jan. 18, the panel acquitted Mrs. Buckey of 12 charges, absolved her son
on 40 counts but deadlocked on another 13 charges against him.
Parents who had championed the prosecution went on national TV shows and
submitted petitions pressuring the county to retry Buckey.
Reiner, running for state attorney general, decided to reprosecute eight
counts involving three children. The McMartin case, which had become a symbol of
prosecutorial excess, was widely blamed for his defeat in the Democratic
primary.
UPn 07/27 2026 Buckey: `Have to look for a job, now'
By MICHAEL C. TIPPING
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Raymond Buckey, never found guilty, never entirely
absolved, said Friday he looks forward to being anonymous.
The man who was thrust onto the public consciousness more than six years ago
as a parent's worst nightmare -- accused of being a monster who violated dozens
of children at his family's preschool and forced them into satanic rituals and
pornographic photo sessions -- left court Friday as close to vindication as he
is likely ever to come.
"The legal system says I'm innocent walking in and I'm still innocent because
I haven't been found guilty," he said.
That declaration came shortly after the jury in the second McMartin
Pre-School trial announced it was hopelessly deadlocked on all charges, forcing
prosecutors at last to admit defeat in the longest, costliest criminal case in
American history.
"I know I'm innocent. I've known it since the beginning, but nobody's won in
the McMartin case," Buckey said.
The shy, rather unkempt young teacher's aide, who first walked into a
courtroom and in front of TV cameras in 1984, has evolved into a sharp-dressing,
media-saavy authority on child-molestation investigations.
"We've never denied molestation can happen," he said. "The McMartin case had
glaring problems and hopefully society can learn from those problems and ... fix
the problems that were in this case" for future cases.
Asked what life-after-McMartin will mean, he said, "I have to get a job now.
I'll just go on with my life like everyone else does."
"I'll probably move out of the city," he added.
Since his release from jail last year after five years in custody awaiting
trial, Buckey said he has been often recognized in public. "I was amazed. I've
gotten very positive feedback from the public."
He also was confident the infamy once attached to McMartin will fade with
time.
"Some other case will come along, I think. Give it a year and no one will
remember my name. People will remember the McMartin phenomenon and the McMartin
case, one and two," he said. "(But) I'll be anonymous, which is just what I
want."
As for filing a false prosecution suit against authorities, he said, "I don't
think I can."
UPn 07/27 2037 Jury: Videotaped child interviews sank McMartin
By MICHAEL C. TIPPING
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- The deadlocked jurors in the McMartin Pre-School
molestation case retrial said Friday the prosecution was ill-served by the
controversial videotaped interviews of the alleged child victims by therapists.
"If there was any one thing that put a shadow of doubt over the whole thing,
it was the interviewing techniques" used by the child therapists at Children's
Institute International in Los Angeles, said the jury foreman, Rick Dunham.
The therapists were commissioned by authorities to interview hundreds of
students and former students at the once-prestigious McMartin Pre-school.
The interviews, innovative at the time and employing word games and dolls to
represent the children and adults at the school, were a primary source of the
accusations that produced the massive McMartin prosecution, with seven
defendants and hundreds of charges involving scores of children.
Now, years later, the jurors in Raymond Buckey's retrial -- echoing their
counterparts in the first marathon trial -- said the interviews did not help the
search for the truth.
Dunham and other jurors said they felt uncomfortable seeing the therapists
asking leading questions and pressuring the children by saying their friends had
revealed "yucky secrets."
"The CII tapes, in my mind, were very bad," Dunham said. "We didn't put a lot
of credence in them. Most (jurors) feel the CII tapes were very poor."
Juror Lloyd Issacson, a 64-year-old U.S. Treasury Department employees, said,
"I had a lot of problems with the tapes and the way things were done. I feel the
kids were just going along with the adults (who were) leading the kids,
definitely."
Jurors said they also had trouble with other parts of the prosecution case.
Issacson said a prosecution medical expert, Dr. Astrid Heger, testified three
girls Buckey was accused in the retrial of molesting all showed anal and vaginal
scarring consistent with molestation.
The girls' pediatricians, however, "said they found nothing wrong" when
examining the girls during the time they were enrolled at McMartin, Issacson
said.
The seven women and five men voted in favor of conviction on only one count.
That count was 8-4 for guilty. The votes favoring acquittal on the other charges
ranged from 11-1 to 7-5. The jury was evenly split, 6-6, on one charge.
The jury had earlier voted to acquit Buckey on two charges, both involving
the same girl.
Those verdicts were kept sealed by the judge and on Friday morning, the jury
asked for the unannounced verdicts to be returned, saying several of jurors had
changed "their views " after re-hearing the testimony of one girl, her mother
and a prosecution medical expert.
That testimony convinced one juror to switch their to guilty, resulting in an
11-1 deadlock.
Several jurors, asked about defense claims that the entire case was a
witch-hunt without real substance, replied, "It's possible."
But they stopped short of absolving Buckey entirely and declined an
invitation to raise their hands to indicate whether they felt Buckey had ever
molested any children.
Juror Mary Scott, prefacing her criticism by saying there was no better legal
system in the world, said that system still is flawed by not producing a
definitive result in McMartin.
"For Ray Buckey and his family to go through this for years and have no
decision, unless no decision is a decision, is criminal," she said.
UPn 07/27 2133 D.A.: McMartin evidence flawed
By LINDA RAPATTONI
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- District Attorney Ira Reiner admitted Friday his
political aspirations were seriously damaged by the handling of the McMartin
Pre-School case and defended his decision not to try the molestation case a
third time.
"Way back at the beginning, when this case was first presented to the
District Attorney's Office, a mistake was made, a serious mistake," Reiner told
reporters after a mistrial was declared in the retrial. "That was the
interviewing of the children was not conducted by people experienced in criminal
justice.
He was referring to the therapists who interviewed the alleged child victims
in the case and whose techniques were criticized by jurors in both trials.
"That was the problem with the first case, that was the problem with the
second case and if there was a third case, that would be there as well," Reiner
said. "That is the single fundamental flaw of the case -- the way the children
were interviewed."
Given that "flaw," Reiner said, it would be impractical to try Raymond Buckey
again.
Reiner also blamed the failure to convict Buckey on his predecessor, former
District Attorney Robert Philibosian, whose office initiated the case and
referred the preschool children to the therapists who conducted the
controversial interviews.
The defense had all along charged that the therapists asked leading questions
and brainwashed the children.
Several jurors in both trials said it was too difficult to determine whether
the children were telling the truth when they said they were molested because of
the questions posed to them by the therapists.
Reiner said his decision not to retry Buckey was made earlier this week,
before the jury had announced it was deadlocked on all eight counts against
Buckey. The decision became firm once the mistrial was declared.
"I think the community has had enough of McMartin," said Deputy District
Attorney Joe Martinez, the prosecutor in the second trial. "The evidence is not
going to get any better."
He said the decision was made after prosecutors discussed the issue with
parents of children who testified in the retrial.
Reiner said he felt he was correct in his decision to try Buckey a second
time, but admitted the McMartin trial had a "major impact" on his failed bid
earlier this year to win the Democratic nomination for state attorney general.
"This was a case that began six or seven years ago as a serious case of child
molestation, but for a whole host of reasons, was blown massively out of
proportion," Reiner said.
"Obviously, it had a major political impact," he said. "I did what was right.
I may have paid a very serious personal price for it."
Reiner said Buckey had to be tried a second time, "as a matter of simple
justice ... to see if there could be a resolution" for the children and their
parents.
"I thank the children -- God knows what they have gone through," he said.
Despite the mistrial, Martinez said he still believes Buckey is guilty.
"He's a free man," Martinez said. "(But) don't misunderstand me: He is not an
innocent man."
Later, Martinez said Buckey should "be deemed legally presumed not guilty,
but people have the right to their opinion."
APn 07/27 2220 Preschool Molest-Prosecutors
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By MICHAEL FLEEMAN
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The former prosecutor who first filed molestation charges
in the McMartin Pre-School case blamed District Attorney Ira Reiner for Friday's
mistrial. But Reiner said the case was in trouble long before he took over.
"There was nothing wrong with that case when it was filed," said Robert
Philibosian, who lost his post to Reiner in a hard-fought 1984 contest.
"(Reiner) has to answer for that case."
Philibosian called the outcome a "political disaster" for Reiner, whose
future was already clouded by his recent primary election loss for state
attorney general.
Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg declared a mistrial in Raymond Buckey's
molestation retrial after a jury said it was hopelessly deadlocked on eight sex
counts involving children at the preschool.
The McMartin case consumed seven years of court time and cost Los Angeles
County more than $13.5 million, making it the longest, most expensive criminal
court case in U.S. history.
Reiner decided to put an end to the case following the mistrial.
"We are not going to retry this case for a third time," Reiner said. "Nothing
would be served by putting the children, the parents and the public through this
for a third time."
But Reiner said he did not regret going through with the second trial.
"It was important to see if this case was tried with dispatch if there would
be another result," he said. "The parents felt it was important there would be a
resolution. I think it's clear now there cannot be."
Reiner conceded, however, there were "fundamental problems with the evidence
in this case," but contended those problems predated his tenure as district
attorney.
He singled out the use of private therapists rather than police officers to
interview the children who claimed they were molested.
"These people were acting in good faith," he said. But he added they were not
trained in criminal law and did not know that "it's necessary when you question
children not to say anything that was leading or suggestive to the child."
The case originally featured seven defendants, but Reiner dropped charges
against five defendants in 1986 for lack of evidence.
Reiner and others criticized Philibosian, contending he pursued the McMartin
case as vigorously as he did to help himself politically. Philibosian has denied
the allegation.
APn 07/28 0034 Preschool Molest-Chronology
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The McMartin Pre-school molestation case was the longest
criminal trial in U.S. history. Here is a chronology of the case:
--Aug. 12, 1983: Judy Johnson makes a phone call to Manhattan Beach Police
Department and tells Detective Jane Hoag that she believes her 2 1/2 -year-old
son was molested by Raymond Buckey at the McMartin Pre-School.
--Sept. 7, 1983: Ms. Hoag arrests Buckey, but he is released later that day
for lack of evidence. Police continue the investigation and stir controversy by
sending letters to 200 parents naming Buckey as a child molestation suspect and
asking them to interrogate their children about oral sex, fondling of genitals
and sodomy.
--Fall of 1983 to spring of 1984: Nearly 400 children are interviewed by
Children's Institute International, and 41 are listed as victims in a complaint
filed by the state.
--March 22, 1984: Public outcry prompts Los Angeles District Attorney Robert
Philibosian to send the case to grand jurors, who indict Buckey; his mother,
Peggy McMartin Buckey; his sister, Peggy Ann Buckey; his grandmother Virginia
McMartin, and three employees, Mary Ann Jackson, Babette Spitler and Betty
Raidor, on 115 charges of child molestation.
--March 24, 1984: All seven defendants are arrested and jailed. Buckey and
his mother are held without bail. Bail for he others ranges from $50,000 to
$350,000.
--April 20, 1984: The seven defendants plead innocent at an arraignment,
during which they are charged with sexually abusing 18 children over 10 years
and using death threats to silence them.
--June 6, 1984: A preliminary hearing starts with Municipal Judge Aviva K.
Bobb presiding. Thirteen of the alleged victims take the stand during the
18-month hearing.
--Jan. 22, 1985: The first child witness in the preliminary hearing testifies
that he and other pupils played "naked games" and that he had been touched on
his genitals by some of the defendants.
--Jan. 9, 1986: Judge Bobb orders all seven defendants to stand trial in
Superior Court on 135 counts of molestation and conspiracy, ending the longest
preliminary hearing in California history. The cost of the hearing was estimated
at $4 million.
--Jan. 17, 1986: District Attorney Ira Reiner says there is insufficient
evidence to warrant a trial for five of the seven defendants and asks dismissal
of charges against Virginia McMartin, Peggy Ann Buckey, Mary Ann Jackson,
Babette Spitler and Betty Raidor. The remaining defendants, Buckey and his
mother, still face 100 counts of molestation and conspiracy.
--Jan. 23, 1986: Mrs. Buckey is released on $295,000 bail, reduced from
$495,000.
--July 13, 1987: Opening statements begin after efforts to move the case
elsewhere are quashed by Superior Court Judge William R. Pounders.
--July 29, 1987: The first parent to testify says his daughter's behavior
indicates she may have been abused at the school, but he didn't recognize the
warning signs at the time.
--Oct. 17, 1988: The judge dismisses eight molestation counts against Buckey
and his mother. They now face a combined 65 counts of molestation and conspiracy
involving 11 former McMartin pupils.
--Feb. 15, 1989: Buckey is released on $1.5 million bail after being jailed
nearly five years.
--April 27, 1989: The trial, hitting the 2-year, 4-day mark, becomes the
longest criminal hearing in U.S. history when it surpasses by one day the
Hillside Strangler trial of Angelo Buono in 1982-83.
--May 16, 1989: Peggy McMartin Buckey takes the stand for the first time and
strongly denies she ever sexually assaulted her students.
--July 26, 1989: Buckey takes the stand and denies he has ever molested
children.
--Nov. 2, 1989: Jurors adjourn to select a foreman and begin deliberations.
--Jan. 18, 1990: The jury acquits Buckey and his mother of 52 counts. The judge
declares a mistrial on 13 other counts -- 12 against Buckey and one against both
Buckey and his mother.
--Jan. 31: Reiner, after consulting with McMartin parents who want a Buckey
retrial, decides to pursue some of the 13 counts the jury deadlocked on in the
first trial.
--April 10: Jury selection begins in Buckey's second trial with a new judge
presiding, Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg.
--July 27: On their 15th day of deliberations, jurors ask Weisberg to return
the two verdicts. They recast their votes. They then tell the judge they are
hopelessly deadlocked on all eight counts. The judge declares a mistrial.
Prosecutors say there will be no third trial.
APn 07/28 0037 Preschool Molest-Analysis
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- In the history of American jurisprudence, no criminal
prosecution has lasted longer nor taken a greater toll financially and
emotionally than the McMartin Pre-School molestation case.
Reputations were ruined and lives were shattered. A school was demolished and
the justice system took a beating as McMartin became a symbol of legal excess.
Seven years and $13.5 million after it began, the last act in the saga of
Raymond Buckey and the teachers of the McMartin school was played out Friday in
a Los Angeles courtroom.
A mistrial was declared in Buckey's retrial after the jury said it was
hopelessly deadlocked on eight child molestation counts. District Attorney Ira
Reiner said there would not be a third trial.
Buckey, once among seven defendants, sat alone before the jury in his second
trial. Six women -- including his mother, sister and grandmother -- were cleared
in earlier proceedings.
The abbreviated second trial, lasting three months, was a sharp contrast to
the first marathon McMartin trial which stretched to nearly three years. An
18-month preliminary hearing had preceded that case.
As months and years passed in the McMartin case, a new decade dawned and time
became the enemy of the truth-seeking process.
The children who were alleged to have been molested at the Manhattan Beach
nursery school grew up. In the second trial, one-time toddlers grown to
adolescence strained to remember on the witness stand a time now lost in the dim
haze of childhood memories.
They furrowed their brows, searching for answers, saying again and again: "I
don't remember."
"The truth never had a chance," Buckey's attorney, Danny Davis, told jurors
in closing arguments. "We never heard from the children. We heard from little
adults."
Deputy District Attorney Pam Ferrero told the jurors, "This particular case
boils down to credibility. Who do you believe? If you believe the children, then
the people have proved their case beyond a reasonable doubt."
Buckey took the stand at both trials and denied ever molesting any children.
The young girls said they were molested by Buckey, but their recollection of
details was sketchy. One girl who earlier accused Buckey's mother, Peggy
McMartin Buckey, of lewd acts shocked participants in the second trial by calmly
saying under oath that none of it was true. Mrs. Buckey, 63, who spent two years
in jail and three years on trial based on such accusations, had already been
acquitted.
Time also changed Raymond Buckey. He spent five years in jail awaiting
resolution of his case until a judge decided he should be released on $1.5
million bail. He emerged a seemingly different person. The gangly,
self-conscious 25-year-old who was arrested in 1983 had matured into a man of
32, carefully groomed, articulate and confident as he faced TV cameras for daily
hallway interviews, proclaiming his innocence.
"It's been close to seven years of my life and now it's come to a finale,
McMartin Two, the summer rerun," Buckey told reporters one day.
And after the trial, his only occupation for years?
"I don't know what I'll do," he said, "maybe grow Christmas trees in Oregon,
maybe give advice on how you survive a witch hunt."
Moments before his second mistrial was declared, Buckey summed it up this
way: "I've gone from probably one of the most hated people you could ever
mention ... to a point of where, everybody that comes up to me now is very
sympathetic, and they're saying `I always thought you were innocent."'
The first trial was a gut-wrenching drama starring prosecutors and defense
attorneys seemingly obsessed with the case. Parents of McMartin children crowded
the courtroom to watch 124 witnesses. TV and newspapers trumpeted bizarre
allegations of satanic rituals, animal sacrifices and supernatural occurrences
at the school.
Superior Court Judge William Pounders, who presided at the first trial, said
the case poisoned everyone who touched it. The mother whose first molestation
report ignited the wildfire of accusations died of alcoholism before the trial
began. A defense investigator committed suicide during the trial.
The second trial, which began April 6, was a toned-down affair. Except for
Buckey and his attorney, Danny Davis, the cast of characters had changed. A new
judge presided and two new prosecutors seemed determined to remain detached from
the passions that consumed their predecessors.
The McMartin school was closed and ultimately demolished after parents
excavated the grounds in search of underground tunnels where they believed
children had been molested. They turned up little conclusive evidence.
Teachers' reputations were destroyed and some of them moved away to escape
the stigma.
District Attorney Ira Reiner's political career also fell victim to the
McMartin case. When the first jury deadlocked on 13 charges against Buckey,
parents pressured Reiner to refile the counts. Buckey had been acquitted on
another 40 counts.
Reiner, then a candidate for state attorney general, decided to reprosecute
Buckey on eight charges involving three children. The McMartin case was widely
blamed for Reiner's election defeat in the June primary.
APn 07/28 0154 Buckey
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- For Raymond Buckey, a jury deadlock marked the end of a
seven-year ordeal -- five years of which he spent in jail convicted of nothing,
but charged with the unspeakable crime of child molestation.
"I've gone from probably one of the most hated people you could ever mention
to a point of where everybody that comes up to me now is very sympathetic, and
they're saying `I always thought you were innocent,"' Buckey said after a
mistrial was declared Friday.
Buckey was retried on charges he molested children at the McMartin
Pre-School. Prosecutors said they wouldn't try him a third time, bringing to a
close the longest criminal case in U.S. history.
"I don't know if anyone can understand the feeling of waiting seven years for
someone to decide your fate," Buckey said.
During his first trial, Buckey was charged with dozens of molestation counts
and acquitted of 40.
Eight charges were refiled against him. In votes taken during 15 days of
deliberation, jurors leaned toward acquittal on seven of the eight counts. The
eighth was split, 6-6. On Friday, they said unanimous verdicts were impossible.
The tall, square-jawed Buckey said the years in jail were tough -- "it's like
a war zone in there."
But he acknowledged that the ordeal "made me a very strong person."
Buckey displayed some bitterness as he spoke of the cost exacted by his
family -- the loss of their home, their once prestigious school in Manhattan
Beach and the damage to their reputations. He blamed those who would not let the
case go away and those who "played a political game with my life."
"It was Salem revisited," he said. "It was McCarthyism one more time."
Buckey, who began the case as a gawky, self-conscious 25-year-old, seemed to
grow in stature as the case progressed. He is now 32, and appears confident,
articulate and well-groomed.
Once he left his glib attorney, Danny Davis, to talk to reporters. Toward the
end, he faced the TV cameras himself with direct, thoughtful answers that made
him his own best spokesman.
He took the witness stand, sunburned from his return to the seaside he loved,
and told jurors he never molested any children.
"I'm innocent," he said after the jury had deadlocked. "There was the
presumption of innocence at the start of this. ... I was innocent coming in and
I'm still innocent because I wasn't found guilty."
Buckey said he hoped society would gain from his case but also predicted the
public would forget it in time.
"They'll remember the McMartin phenomenon," he said. "But given time
something else will come along (to make headlines) and I'll be anonymous and
that's what I want."
Asked what he would do with the rest of his life, Buckey said, "I would like
to be just left alone. I'd like to move out of the city and find a little fresh
air. This is not the kind of life I would have planned out."
He added with a smile, "I'll have to get a job now."
UPn 07/28 0155 Mistrial called in McMartin case _ no third trial
By MICHAEL C. TIPPING
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- After six years as a defendant in the McMartin
Pre-School molestation case -- including the nation's longest and costliest
criminal trial -- Raymond Buckey wants to get a job and become anonymous.
The jury in Buckey's second trial told the judge Friday that it was
hopelessly deadlocked on all counts, forcing a mistrial. Prosecutors said
Buckey, after two trials, would not be tried again on the child molestation
charges.
The mistrial came after 15 days of deliberations and four jury votes on the
remaining eight charges against Buckey.
The two trials cost at least $17.2 million. Prosecutors failed to win even a
single conviction in the case, which once involved hundreds of charges, dozens
of alleged child victims and seven defendants.
An hour after the mistrial was called, Deputy District Attorney Joe Martinez
said, "As far as we're concerned, the McMartin case is over."
The charges are to be formally dismissed at a hearing next Wednesday.
"The legal system says I'm innocent walking in, and I'm still innocent
because I haven't been found guilty," Buckey said. "I know I'm innocent. I've
known it since the beginning, but nobody's won in the McMartin case."
At the first trial in January, Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey,
were acquitted of 52 other molestation counts stemming from the alleged sexual
abuse of 11 children at the now-closed preschool in suburban Manhattan Beach.
The jurors at the first trial deadlocked on 13 other charges against Ray
Buckey. Following a public campaign by parents angered over the acquittals,
District Attorney Ira Reiner ordered that Buckey face a retrial on eight of the
deadlocked counts.
The trial that ended in January lasted nearly three years and cost $13.2
million.
Buckey, 32, was charged in the retrial with molesting three girls at the
nursery school nearly a decade ago.
Asked what life-after-McMartin will mean, he said, "I have to get a job now.
I'll just go on with my life like everyone else does."
"I'll probably move out of the city," he added.
"Some other case will come along, I think. Give it a year and no one will
remember my name. People will remember the McMartin phenomenon and the McMartin
case, one and two," he said. "(But) I'll be anonymous, which is just what I
want."
On Monday, jurors told Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg that they were
"apparently hung," but the judge asked them to keep trying to reach verdicts.
The judge declared a mistrial when jurors returned Friday and said they were
hopelessly deadlocked.
The jury of seven women and five men voted 8-4 in favor of conviction on only
one of the counts and was split evenly on another. The votes favoring acquittal
on the other charges ranged from 11-1 to 7-5.
The jury earlier reached verdicts on two charges, but those verdicts were
kept sealed by the judge. On Friday morning, the jury asked for the unannounced
verdicts to be returned, saying several jurors had changed "their views." Those
two verdicts were for acquittal.
Jury foreman Rick Dunham said, "If any one thing put a shadow of doubt on the
whole thing, it was the interviewing techniques" of therapists who questioned
the children after the allegations surfaced."
Several other jurors criticized the therapists for asking the children
leading questions and pressuring them to reveal "yucky secrets."
Buckey's retrial, involving alleged molestations of three girls at the
once-prestigious, family-run and now-defunct preschool from 1979 until 1983,
lasted only about 3 1/2 months. Cost figures for the retrial have not yet been
compiled. A preliminary hearing cost $4 million.
When the county grand jury initially handed down its indictments in March
1984, the case was the largest sex abuse case in U.S. history.
The case involved seven teachers, including Buckey, his mother, grandmother
Virginia McMartin, and sister Peggy Ann Buckey, who were accused in hundreds of
counts of molesting 42 children.
Over time, the case shrunk as scores of charges and all the defendants except
Ray Buckey and his mother were dismissed because of insufficient evidence. When
Peggy Buckey was acquitted of all charges at the first trial, only her son
remained as a defendant.
Although he was never convicted of anything, Buckey spent nearly five years
in jail. He was finally released on a $3 million property bond in February 1989.
From the beginning, the defense argued that the children were pressured by
parents and brainwashed by overzealous therapists at the Children's Institute
International in Los Angeles into falsely alleging they were molested.
When the case was filed in 1984, it made nationwide headlines because of
bizarre allegations that the children were forced into sexual activities,
horrific satanic rituals involving the animal sacrifices, and pornographic photo
sessions.
Prosecutors failed to substantiate many allegations, however, and over time
downplayed them and eventually stopped mentioning them altogether. For instance,
not one child pornography photo was ever found.
The preschool was closed by the state in January 1984, after the allegations
of molestations surfaced. It was razed two months ago to make way for an office
building.
McMartin Prosecution Halted, Ending Longest Criminal Case
By Jay Mathews
Washington Post Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES, July 27 - The nation's longest and costliest criminal case ended
today with a prosecution decision to drop child molestation charges against
former McMartin Pre-School teacher Raymond Buckey after the second jury to try
him announced itself hopelessly deadlocked.
"How long can you keep this up? The evidence is not going to get any better,"
said deputy district attorney Joe Martinez in declaring an end to the 7-year-old
case that cost taxpayers about $13.2 million. His announcement followed a
mistrial declaration by Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg.
The case began with an August 1983 telephone call from the worried parent of
a 2 1/2-year-old boy. It forced Buckey, 32, to spend five years in jail awaiting
trial, brought charges - later dropped - against six other McMartin teachers,
and affected molestation investigation techniques throughout the country.
Rick Dunham, an engineer who served as foreman of the jury in the second
trial, said most jurors voted to declare Buckey not guilty on most counts
largely because early videotaped interviews showed child abuse counselors
leading alleged child victims into accusations of "Naked Movie Star" games and
damaging charges. "The tapes in my mind were very bad," Dunham said, echoing
comments made by several jurors in the first trial, which ended in January with
not guilty verdicts on 52 counts and a deadlock on 13.
District Attorney Ira Reiner said he consulted with parents of the alleged
victims and his prosecutors earlier in the week and had already decided to drop
the charges if the jury deadlocked, as notes to the judge indicated was likely.
Reiner said he was not sorry he put Buckey through two trials, but acknowledged
"there were certain fundamental problems with the evidence going back six or
seven years."
Buckey's reaction was subdued. "We are never going to get back the seven
years that were taken from us," he said. He said he planned to move out of the
state and "get some fresh air."
Jurors said they voted 8 to 4 to convict Buckey on one count, anal
molestation of one girl, the only majority guilty vote on any count against him
by either jury. On one other count the jury deadlocked.
Earlier in the day the jury recalled two not guilty verdicts it had decided
and sealed days before and changed them to 11 to 1 for aquittal. Dunham said one
juror, after reviewing testimony by a prosecution physician, decided genital
scars on one girl were deep enough into the vagina to prove a crime.
One female juror called discussions of medical evidence during their
three-week deliberation "excruciating." She said "we spend hours debating
whether it is the vagina or the area around the vagina" that must be touched in
a criminal molestation.
"I had a lot of problems with the medical evidence," said juror Lloyd
Isaacson. One doctor, he said, testified about molestation scars but
pediatricians who had given children physical examinations in the period they
were allegedly molested "found nothing wrong."
The first trial, which lasted 33 months, involved charges of molestation of
11 children at the Manhattan Beach school, demolished earlier this year, by
Buckey and his mother Peggy McMartin Buckey, who was acquitted. The second
trial, which lasted less than 12 weeks, dealt with three alleged victims.
Assistant district attorney Pamela Ferrero said only one parent was willing
to allow her child to testify at a third trial, and only if today's jury had
been within one vote of conviction.
APn 07/28 1602 Preschool Molest
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The McMartin Pre-school child molestation case began in a
wildfire of bizarre accusations that swept in from the seaside community of
Manhattan Beach to engulf Southern California for seven years.
When the longest, costliest case in U.S. history ended last week with a
deadlocked jury, the passion that ignited it was all but extinguished and the
anger that kept it going erupted only intermittently.
But left in the ashes of the McMartin case are many victims.
Raymond Buckey, 32, who endured five years in jail and two trials, said his
family suffered beyond measure.
The jury in the first trial acquitted Buckey of 40 charges last January and
cleared his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, of 12 counts. That jury deadlocked on
13 counts against Buckey, and prosecutors refiled eight.
The jury in his second trial deadlocked Friday on eight molestation charges
and a mistrial was declared. Prosecutors said there would be no third trial in
the case that cost Los Angeles County more than $13.5 million.
"I'd like to get for my family the house that was taken away from them,"
Buckey said afterwards. Peggy McMartin Buckey, 63, and her husband, Charles, had
to sell their home and the prestigious school, which grandmother Virginia
McMartin had operated for 22 years, to pay legal costs.
Buckey's sister, Peggy Ann, a teacher of handicapped children, lost her
teaching credential but won it back in a long, bitter battle after charges
against her were dismissed.
Teachers Betty Raidor, Babette Spitler and Mary Ann Jackson lost their
careers as nursery school teachers, even though they were ultimately cleared.
"The case has poisoned everyone who had contact with it," the judge in the
first trial said at one point. "By that I mean every witness, every litigant and
every judicial officer. It's a very upsetting case."
Those words from Superior Court Judge William Pounders came after two
witnesses had died, one by his own hand, the other from alcohol-related disease.
And the children who fueled the case with claims of satanic rituals, animal
sacrifices and molestations were balking at repeated ordeals on the witness
stand.
The newscaster who first broke the McMartin story lost his job and jurors
learned he had an affair with a therapist who interviewed the McMartin children
at Children's Institute International.
The saga began in August 1983 when a mother reported to police that her son
had been molested at the preschool. Hysteria followed after police asked parents
to check their children for signs of molestation. Hundreds of parents reported
their children were victims, and tots were rushed to the institute for
interviews. Therapists decided more than 100 probably had been molested.
Everyone agreed that the children who testified were victims of the long
litigation.
"Those kids cannot be McMartin kids for the rest of their lives," prosecutor
Joseph Martinez said after jurors deadlocked in Buckey's second trial Friday.
"It's been a horrible experience."
But some parents would not give up.
"My child was not called as a witness in either trial," Robert Salas said.
"And that was one of the things wrong in the case. The case was flawed from the
beginning."
For District Attorney Ira Reiner, the case became an albatross. It is
believed to have cost him the Democratic nomination for state attorney general.
His predecessor, Robert Philibosian, who filed the original McMartin case,
called the outcome "a political disaster" for Reiner.
Buckey's lawyer, Danny Davis, has said he may leave the practice of law and
devote himself to helping children. He has called Buckey "an American hero" and
"the most courageous client I've ever had the privilege of serving."
He said he would not file civil lawsuits against anyone on Buckey's behalf.
"We've lost a lot of faith in the judicial system and I can think of nothing
worse than for my client to get involved in civil litigation," he said.
Buckey, who matured and gained confidence under the publicity spotlight, now
hopes to fade into anonymity.
"I would like to be just left alone," he said. "I'd like to move out of the
city and find a little fresh air."
UPn 07/30 1706 Buckey to file malicious prosecution lawsuit
By MICHAEL D. HARRIS
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Former McMartin Pre-School teacher Raymond Buckey, tried
twice but never convicted nor acquitted of child molestation, is planning to
file a malicious prosecution lawsuit against the county and others, his lawyer
said Monday.
The lawyer, Scott Bernstein, said the lawsuit will be filed in Superior Court
Wednesday and will seek more than $10 million in damages for defamation,
conspiracy and malicious prosecution.
The defendants who will be named in the lawsuit are the County of Los
Angeles, whose district attorney's office prosecuted Buckey, Robert Philibosian,
who was district attorney when the case was filed, and the City of Manhattan
Beach, whose police department initiated the investigation of the case.
Other defendants to be named will be the Children's Institute International,
whose therapists interviewed the alleged child victims, Kee McFarlane, the chief
interviewer at CII, Capitol Cities/ABC Inc., which operates KABC-TV, and former
KABC-TV reporter Wayne Satz, who broke the McMartin story.
"After seven years of hell, it's time that Ray starts his life again," the
lawyer said. "This is to redress some of the wrongs that have been done by
(those) ... who used the children, the parents, and the teachers as pawns for
their own political and economic advantage."
Even though he was never convicted of a single count in the marathon case,
Buckey, 32, spent nearly five years in County Jail since his arrest in 1984. He
was finally released on a $3 million property bond in February 1989.
Six other McMartin teachers who were cleared of molestation charges already
have filed malicious prosecution suits in the case. Those teachers include
Buckey's grandmother, Virginia McMartin; his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey; and
his sister, Peggy Ann Buckey.
Buckey's retrial on charges he molested three girls at the Manhattan Beach
preschool ended in a mistrial Friday when jurors deadlocked on all eight
molestation charges against him.
In January, Buckey and his mother were acquitted of 52 other molestation
charges stemming from the alleged molestation of 11 children. Buckey was retried
on charges on which jurors at the first trial deadlocked.
Prosecutors said Friday that Buckey would not be tried a third time on the
charges. The case is to be formally dismissed by the judge Wednesday.
Throughout the six-year prosecution, Buckey maintained his innocence. He and
his criminal defense attorney, Danny Davis, argued that the children were
brainwashed by overzealous child therapists at CII into falsely leveling the
molestation charges.
The verdicts in January climaxed a trial that lasted nearly three years and
cost $13.2 million, making it the longest, costliest criminal trial in U.S.
history.
The retrial, greatly reduced in scope, lasted less than four months.
The case was the largest sex abuse case in U.S. history when the county grand
jury handed up its initial indictments in March 1984. But five co-defendants,
including Buckey's sister and grandmother, and dozens of charges were dismissed
because of insufficient evidence.
The preschool was closed by the state in January 1984 after the molestation
allegations surfaced. This past May, it was razed to make way for an office
building.
APn 08/01 1827 Preschool Molest
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) -- A judge pounded the final gavel in the McMartin
preschool case Wednesday, dismissing child molestation charges in the nation's
longest, costliest criminal prosecution.
Defendant Raymond Buckey promptly filed a multimillion dollar malicious
prosecution suit.
"The case of the People vs. Raymond Buckey is hereby dismissed and the
defendant is discharged," said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stanley
Weisberg. "That completes this case."
The ruling came after jurors deadlocked Friday in Buckey's retrial on eight
charges and the judge declared a mistrial.
Later Wednesday, Buckey and his civil attorney summoned reporters to Beverly
Hills to annouce the suit against Los Angeles County, the city of Manhattan
Beach and a former district attorney. Also named were a therapist and therapy
center that elicited damaging testimony from children, and KABC-TV and its
reporter Wayne Satz, who carried many early stories about the case.
Buckey said he wanted to recoup some of the money his family lost in fighting
the marathon case.
"What else can I do?" asked Buckey. "Do we just walk out of the criminal
system and they're not even going to say they're sorry? Money is something that
hopefully can get my family back together."
The suit, filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles, claims malicious
prosecution, conspiracy and defamation, as well as violation of Buckey's civil
rights. Buckey's mother, who was a defendant, filed a separate suit in federal
court after her acquittal in January.
The district attorney's office sought the dismissal of charges, and
prosecutor Joseph Martinez said he thought it was "for the best" to end the
seven-year ordeal that had shattered lives and strained the legal system.
"We can't change the evidence," Martinez said. "There were two juries,
objective people who felt there wasn't the evidence to convict."
The McMartin case consumed seven years of court time and cost Los Angeles
County more than $13.5 million, making it the longest, most expensive criminal
court case in U.S. history.
"He's a free man," Buckey's attorney, Danny Davis, said as he emerged from
the last court hearing in the criminal case. "Please treat my client as not only
a free man but an innocent man."
He stressed that Buckey, like other defendants, was presumed innocent unless
convicted, and that Buckey was convicted of nothing.
"This man spent five years in jail, seven years of his life," Davis said. "He
is a symbol of the presumption of innocence."
The attorney likened his client to Rocky Balboa, the boxing hero of the movie
"Rocky."
"He's a young man who went through a test and came out a hero at the end," he
said. "He slayed his dragon."
Buckey said the case seemed to last "a lifetime" but made him a stronger
person. "I now know how deep I can go into my soul. I've been there and
survived.
"I feel scarred by this case and I need to heal," Buckey said. He added he
now feels in control of his life. "I no longer have 12 jurors deciding my fate.
I'm deciding it."
Buckey's mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, was in court for the dismissal along
with his sister, Peggy Ann. Both women were former defendants.
"I still can't believe it," said Mrs. Buckey, who was acquitted of all
charges against her. "We've been through seven years of hell and it still hasn't
hit me -- it's over."
The case started with dozens of molestation charges and seven defendants, but
only Buckey and his mother ever stood trial. Charges against five other teachers
or employees at the Manhattan Beach preschool were dismissed for lack of
evidence.
When the first trial ended Jan. 18, Buckey's mother was acquitted on all
counts and Buckey was acquitted on 40 counts. The jury deadlocked on 13 counts
and Buckey was retried on eight.
Buckey spent five years in jail, before being released on bail. He took the
witness stand at both trials to deny he ever molested any child.
UPn 08/02 0103 Buckey free after 7-year McMartin case is dismissed
By MICHAEL D. HARRIS
LOS ANGELES (UPI) -- Ray Buckey, free of criminal charges in the notorious
McMartin Pre-School molestation case for the first time in nearly seven years,
said he filed a $20 million lawsuit seeking vindication and the money to rebuild
his financially ruined family.
Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg formally ended the longest and
costliest criminal proceeding in U.S. history Wednesday when he dimissed eight
counts against Buckey on which two juries could not reach verdicts.
Despite a prosecution that began in 1984, cost at least $17.2 million, and
once involved hundreds of charges, dozens of alleged child victims and seven
defendants, not a single conviction was ever obtained.
"The case of People vs. Raymond Buckey is dismissed and the defendant is
discharged," Weisberg said, granting a motion by Deputy District Attorney Joseph
Martinez to dismiss the final counts against Buckey, a former teacher at his
family's preschool in suburban Manhattan Beach.
"That's it. That concludes this case," Weisberg said as Buckey's mother,
Peggy McMartin Buckey, and sister, Peggy Ann Buckey -- both former defendants in
the case -- and his father, Charles Buckey, looked on.
Outside the courtroom, Buckey, who spent five years in jail following his
1984 arrest before being released in February 1989 on a $3 million property
bond, told reporters that "the ax is no longer over my head. This is finally
over and now I have to go on."
Following a trial that lasted almost three years and cost $13.2 million,
Buckey, 32, and his mother were acquitted in January of 52 molestation charges
stemming from the alleged sexual abuse of 11 children at the Virginia McMartin
Pre-School from 1979-83.
Buckey's mother was acquitted of all the charges against her, but jurors
deadlocked on 13 counts against Buckey, and he was retried on eight of those
counts. But that jury also deadlocked, and prosecutors decided not to try Buckey
a third time.
But, while the criminal proceedings formally ended Wednesday, the case is
expected to live on in the civil courts for years.
"Money is something that hopefully we can get back," said Buckey, explaining
that his family lost everything -- their livelihoods and homes -- fighting the
charges.
"I want to rebuild my family," Buckey said. "They can never give me back five
years of my life .... Vindication is something nice to have, but it's not
something that's going to feed my family."
Buckey's Superior Court lawsuit accuses the county of Los Angeles, the city
of Manhattan Beach, former Los Angeles County District Attorney Robert
Philobosian and others of conspiracy, defamation and violating his civil rights.
Also named are Childrens Institute International, whose controversial
videotaped interviews with the alleged victims were cited by most jurors as the
main reason they could not convict the Buckeys, CII therapist Kathleen "Kee"
MacFarlane, Capital Cities-ABC, and Wayne Satz, the former KABC-TV reporter who
broke the story.
Buckey maintained his innocence throughout, arguing that the children were
brainwashed into leveling the allegations by over-zealous child therapists at
the children's institute.
The case was the largest sex abuse case in U.S. history when the county grand
jury handed up its initial indictments in March 1984 and made a national issue
of child molestation. But five co-defendants, including Buckey's sister and
grandmother, and hundreds of charges were dismissed because of insufficient
evidence.
The preschool, which the family turned over to their defense attorney as
partial payment, was closed by the state in January 1984 after the molestation
allegations surfaced. It was razed in May to make way for an office building.
Therapist MacFarlane said the suit "is an echo of the five other (suits filed
by McMartin defendants) that preceded it -- all of which have been dismissed by
the courts. They have failed because they paint a distorted view of what the
McMartin case was about. It was not about brainwashing, conspiracy,
racketeering, politicians, attorneys, reporters or me.
"What it was and always will be about is children: their experiences, their
physical and emotional scars and their credibility," she said.
The suit says the defendants fabricated and suppressed evidence and accused
the district attorney and others of conspiring to publicize the McMartin
investigation "in such a way as to predetermine the outcome of the
investigation."
Buckey said he is "ready for a battle" and that the suit is his "first
opportunity to be on the offense."
"What can I do? What can my family do?" Buckey said. "Are we going to walk
out of the criminal justice system and say `Aren't you going to at least say
you're sorry?' Something has to be done.
"Someone has to answer the question of why this case went as long as it did
and cost as much as it did."
Scott Bernstein, Buckey's civil attorney, said he expected the case to go to
trial in about 18 months.
APn 08/02 0545 Preschool Molest
Copyright, 1990. The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By LINDA DEUTSCH
Associated Press Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The book is closed on the criminal end of the McMartin
Pre-School molestation case, but the civil claims are just beginning.
A jury hearing Raymond Buckey's retrial on eight child molestation charges
deadlocked last week. On Wednesday, Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg
accepted a prosecution request to close the case without a third trial.omptly
announced he was filing a lawsuit in state court alleging malicious prosecution,
conspiracy, defamation and civil rights violations. His mother filed a similar
lawsuit in federal court in January.
"My family has nothing left," Buckey said. "Do we just walk out of the
criminal system and they're not even going to say they're sorry?"
Lawyer Scott Bernstein, who did not represent Buckey in the criminal trial,
said he will seek millions of dollars in compensation for Buckey.
Buckey, 32, and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, were acquitted in January
of 52 charges of molesting children at their now-closed preschool in Manhattan
Beach. But the jury deadlocked on several other charges against him.
That first trial took nearly three years and cost Los Angeles County more
than $13.5 million, making it the longest and costliest criminal trial in U.S.
history.
Named as defendants in Buckey's lawsuit were the county, Manhattan Beach,
former District Attorney Robert Philibosian, Children's Institute International
and social worker Kee MacFarlane, KABC-TV and television newsman Wayne Satz.
Satz broke the story and was romantically linked with Ms. MacFarlane, lead
therapist at the institute where workers used play-acting techniques and
anatomically correct dolls to interview children about alleged molestation.
E-Mail Fredric L. Rice / The Skeptic Tank