McMartin Student Appears to Recant Earlier Testimony

A 7-year-old Manhattan Beach boy--the first alleged victim to take the witness stand in the McMartin Pre-School molestation case--appeared to contradict his earlier testimony Thursday under cross-examination by one of seven defense attorneys.

Bradley Brunon, who represents defendant Virginia McMartin, the school’s 77-year-old founder, suggested in his questions that the child made up bizarre stories involving allegations of sexual abuse to please his parents, a therapist and a prosecutor.

At one point, Brunon asked: “They told you they wanted you to say that Ray (key defendant Ray Buckey, McMartin’s grandson and a former teacher at the school) touched the kids on the penis and the butt?”

“Yes,” the child replied.

The boy’s statements were made during his third day on the witness stand in the preliminary hearing for McMartin, Buckey, 26, and five other former teachers at the school--Peggy McMartin Buckey, 58; Betty Raidor, 65; Babette Spitler, 36; Mary Ann Jackson, 57, and Peggy Ann Buckey, 28.

208 Counts in Case

The hearing, in its sixth month, is to determine whether the seven should stand trial on 208 counts of child molestation and conspiracy involving 41 children who attended the school since 1978.

The boy testified earlier this week on direct examination that he had been molested, photographed and threatened by teachers at the school during what he called “naked games.”

During Thursday’s 2 1/2-hour cross-examination, Brunon asked the boy if he had said that Virginia McMartin watched the molestations “so that he (Deputy Dist. Atty. Glenn Stevens) wouldn’t be sad?”

“Yes,” the child answered.

Brunon led him through a series of questions in which the boy described being helped by his teacher, “Miss Peggy” (defendant Peggy McMartin Buckey), to dry off and dress after playing in the school’s wading pool:

“She had to touch you on your bottom and your penis, didn’t she?”

“Yes,” the boy replied.

“Is that what you were telling us when you said you were touched on the butt and the penis?”

“Yes,” he answered.

In response to other questions, the child said he had never seen any adults naked except his parents and that he did not remember anybody watching naked games at the school, both apparent contradictions of his testimony in direct examination Tuesday.

Brunon asked the young witness: “This is just telling the story these people want you to tell? . . . You’re not nervous, but just telling the story that Shawn (Shawn Connerly, a therapist at Children’s Institute), Mr. Stevens (the prosecutor) and your mom--that everybody--wants you to tell?”

“Yes,” the child said.

During a recess, Brunon said he believes that he raised “a real question now as to whether or not these events occurred and whether or not testimony was produced by these interviews (with therapists and prosecutors).”

He said the defense will attempt today to show a videotaped interview with the child now on the witness stand that was conducted at Children’s Institute. He said the videotape “shows brainwashing.”

During 2 1/2 hours of cross-examination, the youngster stuck with his earlier stories of playing naked games, of being taken to stramgers’ houses and having to watch while “Mr. Ray” (defendant Buckey) cut off the ears of the school’s pet rabbit during a recess period on the playground.

The child said Buckey held the rabbit by the ears in his left hand and sliced off its ears with a folding knife. He said the rabbit fell on the ground, scampered off and was never seen again.

Municipal Judge Aviva K. Bobb recesed the court early Thursday, after noticing that the child, who has been ill, was taking deep breaths she attributed to “the exhuastive cumulative effectof the three days” of testifying.

Defense attorneys dismissed his apparent discomfort as “the effects of being caught in prevarication.

During 2 1/2 hours of cross-examination, however, the youngster stuck with his earlier stories of playing naked games, of being taken to strangers’ houses and of having to watch while “Mr. Ray” (defendant Buckey) cut off the ears of the school’s pet rabbit during a recess period on the playground.

‘Exhaustive ... Effect’

The child said Buckey held the rabbit by the ears in his left hand and sliced off its ears with a folding knife. He said the rabbit fell on the ground, scampered off and was never seen again.

Municipal Judge Aviva K. Bobb recessed the court early Thursday, after noticing that the child, who has been ill, was taking deep breaths she attributed to “the exhaustive cumulative effect of three days” of testifying.

Defense attorneys dismissed his apparent discomfort as “the effects of being caught in prevarication.”