Child Says Teachers Forced Her to Play ‘Naked Games’

The third child witness in the McMartin Pre-School molestation case testified Tuesday that she was forced to stand naked in a dark closet after she was sexually abused by three former teachers.

The 8-year-old girl, who attended the suburban Manhattan Beach preschool five years ago, said Raymond Buckey, 26, his mother Peggy McMartin Buckey, 58, and former teacher Betty Raidor, 65, all molested her during a series of “naked games.”

The young witness, known as Jane Doe No. 10, is the third of 41 children expected to testify against seven defendants charged with 208 counts of molestation and conspiracy.

The third-grader said in a soft voice that Raymond Buckey, the chief defendant in the case, attempted intercourse after she was “caught” during a game called “cowboys and Indians.”

The testimony of the girl is expected to move more quickly than the first two child witnesses because of Municipal Judge Aviva Bobb’s ruling that questions can relate only to the specific counts charged.

There are four counts involving the girl now on the witness stand.

“We just cannot have another repetition of 16 days,” said Lael Rubin, a deputy district attorney, referring to the 10-year-old boy who concluded his testimony last Friday. “I hope we can move along more speedily.”

Describing the cowboys and Indians game, the girl said it would start outside the school with their clothes on, then the students would be caught by the teachers and taken inside to a classroom where they were told to take off their clothes. They were then tied up with string, she said.

Under questioning by Rubin, the chief prosecutor in the case, the girl said she was cold and scared when she was forced into a classroom closet. The girl said that “Miss Peggy” and “Miss Betty” participated in the alleged molestations.

She also said the school’s founder, Virginia McMartin, 77, watched as some of the “naked games” occurred. Under cross examination by defense attorney Walter Urban, who represents Raidor, the girl said Virginia McMartin “clapped” while watching the “naked movie star game.”

In addition to being molested, the young witness said Raymond Buckey threatened the children into keeping silent about the alleged molestations by hurting animals.

“Ray stuck a knife in a turtle,” the soft-spoken girl said.

“What did he do then?” Rubin asked.

“He said if you told your mom and dad, this would happen to you,” she said.

She also said she was forced to take off her clothes and pose for pictures in the “naked movie star game.”

Also charged in the case are Peggy Ann Buckey, 28, Mary Ann Jackson, 57, and Babette Spitler, 36.