50 New Counts Sought in the McMartin Case

Prosecutors in the McMartin Pre-School molestation hearing tried to rebuild their crumbling case Thursday by asking the court to charge the seven defendants with an additional 50 molestation counts.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Lael Rubin said the new counts are based on testimony presented by several of the 13 child witnesses during the 10-month preliminary hearing. The request came on the heels of Municipal Judge Aviva K. Bobb’s decision earlier in the week to throw out about 200 counts--or about two-thirds of the original charges against the defendants--because prosecutors failed to produce any testimony on those counts.

Bobb said that she would rule June 21 on whether any or all of the seven former teachers at the Manhattan Beach preschool should be bound over to Superior Court for trial.

Rubin, in asking that the new counts be considered, said state law requires that defendants “have to answer” to any additional counts introduced during the proceedings.

She noted, for example, that one 10-year-old boy, who originally accused three of his former teachers of six molestation counts, gave testimony that ultimately implicated all seven defendants for a total of 28 counts. Defense attorneys, however, argued that no additional counts could be added because Bobb ruled last spring that the preliminary hearing would deal only with the original charges in the indictment and complaint.

The defense made a request of its own--that all of the estimated 90 remaining counts against their clients be dismissed. Defense lawyers argued that there was insufficient evidence to substantiate some counts and that the defense had been unconstitutionally limited in cross-examination of the witnesses.

The surprising developments in the case began Tuesday after Bobb denied a prosecution request that the remaining child witnesses be allowed to testify by way of closed-circuit television, as permitted by a recently enacted state law.

Bobb found the new statute constitutional but ruled that it could not be applied to a case already in progress.

After the ruling, the prosecution immediately announced that it would not call any of its 28 remaining witnesses. Rubin said that only five of those 28 were willing to testify at all and then only by way of closed-circuit television. Six other witnesses dropped out because Rubin said they could not withstand even the protective television procedure. The remaining 16 witnesses had been withdrawn from the case by their parents after they saw the effects of lengthy cross-examination on the early witnesses, Rubin said.

As a result, Bobb threw out the all the charges relating to those witnesses who did not testify.

Prosecution attorneys said that they will ask Superior Court for a stay of the proceedings against the defendants until they can file an appeal of Bobb’s decision on the closed-circuit TV issue. Anticipating such an appeal, Bobb agreed to take under submission motions to dismiss counts involving the five children whom prosecutors are seeking to have testify by closed circuit.

The seven defendants had been charged with 208 counts of molestation and conspiracy, following their indictment on 115 counts. Those charged include Virginia McMartin, 77; Peggy McMartin Buckey, 58; Raymond Buckey, 27; Peggy Ann Buckey, 29; Betty Raidor, 65; Mary Ann Jackson, 57, and Babette Spitler, 37.

On Thursday night, dozens of McMartin parents, describing themselves as “angry, disappointed and disillusioned,” crammed the American Martyrs School hall in Manhattan Beach for a meeting they had demanded with the district attorney’s office.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Roger Gunson, head of the sex crimes unit, refused to speak to them until reporters were excluded.

Parents who left the meeting to brief reporters in the parking lot said that Gunson had given them “no satisfactory answers.”

“We want to know if dropped charges will be refiled,” said one parent. “We want to know why certain children who are willing to testify were dropped. Whether the district attorney will pursue the additional counts that emerged. And whether any children will be called if the closed-circuit appeal is successful.”

Some parents complained that there had been no communication between prosecutors and parents for months.

They vowed to become more vocal.

“I will not have people saying that ‘Oh, these were all lies, now we’ll get the truth,’ ” said one parent, referring to the dismissal of charges.

The parents said they will seek a meeting with Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner.