Girls’ Testimony Blamed in Mistrial : Inconsistencies in Stories Cited by Jurors in Sex-Abuse Case

Inconsistent testimony by the five young girls he was accused of sexually molesting was the main reason jurors were unable to reach a verdict in the trial of a former South Bay preschool aide, a juror said Saturday.

“It was just very difficult to sort out what was true and what was untrue and what was fact and what was fantasy,” said Teresa Ley, a 51-year-old postal clerk who served on the panel of eight women and four men. A mistrial in the case against Michael Ruby, 18, was declared Friday.

Ley’s comments echoed those of other jurors, including the foreman, David M. Wilson, who late Friday informed Torrance Superior Court Judge Bob T. Hight that the jury was “hopelessly deadlocked and paralyzed on all the main issues” after deliberating 13 days.

“I think what you come back to is, ‘do you believe the children or not,’ ” Wilson said Friday night, adding that he voted to find Ruby guilty on all 11 counts.

Ruby is charged with sexually molesting five girls at the now-closed Manhattan Ranch Preschool in Manhattan Beach between September, 1983, and July, 1984. The youth, who was employed part-time at the school as a playground aide, denied the charges when he testified.

First to Stand Trial

Of the string of South Bay nursery schools closed since 1984 because of child-abuse allegations, the Manhattan Ranch case is the first in which a defendant has stood trial.

However, the credibility of children’s testimony has also come under attack by defense attorneys at a preliminary hearing into the McMartin Pre-School case, where seven former teachers are accused of molesting 14 children left in their care between 1978 and 1983.

Hight, who presided over the 11-week trial, during which jurors heard testimony from 66 witnesses, ordered Ruby to return to court Dec. 6 for a decision on whether he will be retried. Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Lisa Hart, who prosecuted the case, said she will talk to the parents of the child witnesses before deciding on whether to retry the case.

“I think the real problem is children testifying in court,” Hart said after the mistrial was announced on Friday. “It’s just difficult for them.”

William MacCabe, Ruby’s court-appointed attorney, said he was disappointed that the jurors had deadlocked, saying that based on the children’s confusing testimony, he believes that his client should have been acquitted.

During the trial, the five girls between the ages of 5 and 7 testified in open court against Ruby, saying that he molested them in a school bathroom, a classroom, or out of doors near the school’s front gate, and then threatened to kill their parents if they told anyone. Some of the girls became confused during questioning, contradicting themselves on where they were molested and how many times.

Ley, 51, said that the closest the jurors got to reaching a verdict on any of the 11 counts lodged against Ruby was a vote of 10 to 2 for acquittal on one count. Of the remainder of the charges, jurors tied 6 to 6 on each count, she said.

‘Basically Telling Truth’

Despite the inconsistencies in the girls’ stories, Ley said, she believed that the girls were “basically telling the truth.” She said she believed that Ruby was guilty of nine of the eleven counts of sexual molestation, but some jurors voted not guilty on all 11 counts. Immediately after the jury began deliberations, she said, one juror said he thought that the girls were not telling the truth.

Another juror, Jean Hartland, said Saturday that she was “borderline for guilty or not guilty,” but eventually voted not guilty on all 11 counts because of the contradictions in the children’s stories both during the trial and as compared to testimony in December’s preliminary hearing.

During the trial’s closing arguments, Deputy Dist. Atty. Hart described Ruby as a “controlled, controlling young man” who enjoyed his position of authority at the preschool and used it to sexually experiment with the girls. She pointed to testimony of several pediatricians, who said that physical symptoms displayed by the girls were consistent with sexual abuse.

The prosecutor, who acknowledged to jurors that some of the children’s testimony was confusing, repeatedly referred to testimony given by University of Denver psychologist Gail Goodman, who specializes in eyewitness testimony of children. Goodman told the jury that young children recall significant events in their lives, but can become confused when recounting the details of the events.

Evidence Called Inconclusive

MacCabe countered that the medical evidence was inconclusive, and that the girls’ testimony was so riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions that it was impossible to determine what--if anything--actually happened.