Witness, 9, Gives Detailed Account of Alleged Abuse

On his last day on the witness stand, a 9-year-old boy testified in detail Wednesday about being forced to perform sexual acts in a bathroom with the chief defendant in the McMartin Pre-School molestation hearing.

The boy, who described being fondled, sodomized and forced to orally copulate Raymond Buckey, 26, also drew a picture of the Manhattan Beach school’s bathroom, where the incidents allegedly took place.

The child had first testified about the molestations Tuesday during cross-examination. At that time the surprised defense attorneys contended outside court that the child was making up his accounts of molestation.

After the detailed testimony Wednesday, the defense attorneys continued to try to negate the child’s testimony. They said the child’s drawing of a bathroom containing several stalls was inaccurate, because bathrooms at the Manhattan Beach preschool contain single toilets. The child, when asked by the defense why he did not mention the alleged sex acts during direct questioning, said he was confused about what the prosecutor was asking.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Glenn Stevens, who had tried unsuccessfully to elicit the molestation accusations from the child during direct examination last week, said outside court that he thought the boy may have been too embarrassed earlier to mention it.

Range of Emotions

During his 5 1/2 days on the stand, the child displayed a range of emotions. In the beginning he appeared ill at ease, his words coming out in jumbled sentences. At one point he broke into sobs when he was backed into an apparent corner by a defense attorney.

As he became more at ease, the boy smiled often, rolled his eyes when his testimony was interrupted by objections and even became bold enough to tell the judge that he thought it was time for a lunch break.

During his testimony, the child was unable to account for some apparent contradictions between what he said in court and what he had told a county grand jury and a therapist a year ago. On Monday, he admitted that he lied about some details when talking to the grand jury and the therapist, but he maintained that his most recent account on the witness stand was true. He was on the stand 5 1/2 days.

He maintained that he had been molested by defendant Raymond Buckey in the bathroom and during naked games of “horsie,” that he had been forced to keep a lookout for parents from atop a jungle gym while his classmates were sexually abused and that he had been taken to a house equipped with professional photo equipment for nude picture sessions.

He also insisted that he had told his mother that he had been sexually abused before being interviewed by a therapist. The defense is attempting to show that none of the young witnesses indicated that they had been molested until therapists planted the notions in their minds.

The fifth alleged child victim to testify, a 9-year-old boy, is scheduled to take the stand today in the preliminary hearing for Buckey; Virginia McMartin, 77; Peggy McMartin Buckey, 58; Peggy Ann Buckey, 29; Betty Raidor, 65; Mary Ann Jackson, 57, and Babette Spitler, 37. They are accused of 208 counts of molestation and conspiracy involving 41 pupils at the school.