Preschool Aide Denies Abusing Five Little Girls

A former playground aide at a Manhattan Beach preschool denied in court Friday that he sexually molested five girls at the school.

Taking the witness stand in his own defense, the aide, Michael Ruby, 18, repeatedly denied that he was in a bathroom at the now-closed Manhattan Ranch Preschool when, according to three of the girls, he fondled them.

The five girls, between the ages of 5 and 7, have testified in Torrance Superior Court that Ruby molested them at several locations at the school. Ruby has pleaded innocent to 11 counts of child molestation. In testimony Wednesday, Ruby said he could not recall having ever seen one of the girls until she appeared in court.

“It’s true you did sneak into the bathroom when (three girls) were in there, isn’t is?” asked Deputy Dist. Atty. Lisa Hart.

“No, ma’am,” Ruby replied.

Denies Making Threat

A few minutes later, when Hart asked Ruby if he told the children that he would kill their parents if they told that he had molested them, Ruby replied: “I never told anybody I would kill anybody’s parents.”

Several times during the questioning, Ruby appeared flustered and confused. At one point, he asked permission to speak privately with his court-appointed attorney, William MacCabe. “Can I have just a moment?” Ruby asked. “Can I ask advice?” Judge Bob T. Hight granted the request.

Hart’s cross-examination was frequently interrupted by MacCabe, who objected to several attempts by Hart to get Ruby to admit that he had molested the girls, after he had denied that he did. At one point, the judge seemed impatient with Hart: “You asked him if he did it, he said no, and then you ask him when.”

Ends Time on Stand

Friday marked the third and final day on which Ruby took the stand in his own defense.

Ruby, a former football player at Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, had been working part-time at the preschool for 10 months when he was arrested in July, 1984. He was initially charged with 31 counts of molesting, involving eight boys and girls. Twenty charges involving three of the children were later dropped.

The trial, which began in late August, is expected to end within a week.