Judge Weighs TV Testimony in McMartin Case

A judge who said he was concerned about the rights of children to describe their alleged molestation heard arguments Monday on whether they could testify by way of closed-circuit television in the McMartin Pre-School preliminary hearing.

“How can we say there’s a sense of fair play and justice when a child who’s been molested is denied the opportunity to come into the courts of Los Angeles and make a statement about what happened?” Superior Court Judge Paul Turner said.

But Deputy Public Defender Albert J. Menaster replied that if anyone had denied the children their chance to speak, it was the prosecution, which refused to call 28 remaining witnesses to the stand unless they were allowed to use the closed-circuit procedure.

“They excluded the witnesses,” said Menaster, who represents defendant Peggy Ann Buckey, 29. “That’s their choice.”

Plea by Attorney

During the wide-ranging statements, the attorney for primary defendant Raymond Buckey, 27, moved that the case against his client be dismissed on procedural grounds.

Attorney Daniel Davis cited state law that says a preliminary hearing must be held in continuing session and that if it is interrupted for more than 10 days, the defendant must be released from custody or the case must be dismissed.

Turner halted the preliminary hearing after the prosecution appealed Municipal Judge Aviva K. Bobb’s decision to ban closed-circuit testimony. He said he would rule Friday on the dismissal motion.

Bobb had ruled that a new law enacted by the Legislature could not apply because the 10-month-old McMartin hearing was already under way when the law was passed.

Effect of Ruling

Turner said he does not have authority to order Bobb to hold closed-circuit hearings, but he can order her to reconsider her decision.

After Bobb’s ruling, the prosecution rested its case without calling 28 of 41 alleged molestation victims to the stand. Several parents had refused to let their children be interrogated in the same room with the defendants.

Without their testimony, Bobb dismissed about two-thirds of more than 300 molestation charges covering the period between 1978 and 1984 at the now-closed Manhattan Beach preschool.

Turner said he would not issue a ruling on the closed-circuit issue until attorneys file further written briefs Friday afternoon.

Youngsters have testified that they were raped, sodomized and forced to play naked games by the McMartin staff. They also said they took part in satanic rituals and were forced to watch animals tortured and killed to ensure they would remain silent.

Other defendants include the school’s founder, 77-year-old Virginia McMartin; her daughter, Peggy McMartin Buckey, 58, and teachers Mary Ann Jackson, 57, and Betty Raidor, 65.