D.A. Won’t Try 5 in McMartin Case : Evidence Called ‘Incredibly Weak’; Raymond Buckey, Mother Face Trial

All charges against five of the seven defendants in the McMartin Pre-School molestation case were dropped Friday by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, which said it did not have sufficient evidence to prove the five guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Only nursery school teacher Raymond Buckey, 27, the key defendant, who faces 79 molestation counts, and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, 59, who is accused of 20 counts, will stand trial. Both also face one count of conspiracy. Their arraignment is scheduled Thursday.

Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner announced that he will not prosecute school founder Virginia McMartin, 78; her granddaughter, Peggy Ann Buckey, 29, or three former teachers at the now-closed Manhattan Beach nursery school--Mary Ann Jackson, 58; Betty Raidor, 66, and Babette Spitler, 37. All had been free on bail.

Raymond Buckey and his mother are accused of molesting 14 children left in their care, 13 of whom are expected to testify against them. Their arraignment is scheduled Thursday. Buckey is being held without bail; his mother on $500,000 bail.

‘Children Were Molested’

“I think it is clear when you look at the evidence that children were molested at the McMartin Pre-School,” said Reiner, who had previously remained silent about the two-year-old case. “I think it is clear that Ray Buckey molested them, and . . . that his mother, Peggy, was involved.

“There is strong, compelling evidence that two . . . are guilty,” he said. “The evidence against the others is incredibly weak.”

Outraged Parents

About two dozen outraged parents of children who attended McMartin descended on the Criminal Courts Building in downtown Los Angeles when they heard of Reiner’s decision. The parents, many of them in tears, were harshly critical of the district attorney.

“After this long preliminary hearing, in which the judge used the word ‘guilty’ about all seven defendants, how can we explain to our children that five are being set free? I wish Reiner had some answers,” one father said.

Some of the parents said they plan to appeal to state Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp to reopen the case against the five.

The five former defendants expressed mixed feelings--relief that the charges against them have been dropped but bitterness at having lost their life savings and reputations in the long battle.

“I’m just thankful to be alive,” said Jackson, who added that she “cannot find it in my heart to blame anyone.”

However, Peggy Ann Buckey, whose mother and brother remain behind bars, blamed the events of the last two years on “misused power, ignorance and people’s political careers. . . .” Others threatened civil suits to protest a prosecution that they believe violated their civil rights.

‘Naked Games’

During the seven defendants’ 18-month preliminary hearing--the longest in state history--14 children testified that they had been raped, sodomized, fondled, drugged, photographed and forced by their teachers and others to play “naked games,” witness the mutilation and killing of animals and participate in satanic rituals involving churches, cemeteries and corpses.

The McMartin case, which has cost $4 million so far, is now much smaller than when filed almost two years ago. With more than 300 counts, 41 scheduled child witnesses and 7 defendants, the initial McMartin prosecution had been called the largest child sexual abuse case in U.S. history.

The allegations stunned the affluent beach community, where the defendants were longtime, respected residents, and spawned a wide-ranging investigation that resulted in the closing of eight preschools in the South Bay area.

Last week, at the end of the preliminary hearing, Municipal Judge Aviva K. Bobb ordered all seven defendants to stand trial on 135 counts of molestation and conspiracy, telling each one, “The court believes there is sufficient cause to believe you are guilty. . . .”

However, Reiner said Friday that there is a big difference between the “strong suspicion” of guilt that prosecutors must show at a preliminary hearing and the guilt “beyond a resonable doubt” that they must prove at trial.

The decision to prosecute only Raymond Buckey and his mother was announced in a carefully orchestrated series of meetings and press conferences Friday morning.

Reporters Briefed

First, a small group of reporters were informally briefed by Deputy Dist. Atty. Lael Rubin, and her boss, Roger J. Gunson, head deputy of the district attorney’s sexual crimes and child abuse division. Rubin and Gunson make up the team that will take the controversial case to trial.

Next, as disappointed parents wept and cameras rolled, the prosecutors formally filed the charges in Superior Court and made brief statements. Then, Reiner held a separate press conference shortly before noon, followed by a private meeting with parents.

At the morning briefing, prosecutors explained how they reached their decision, which they called an “overwhelming consensus.”

They said they had been meeting with top Reiner aides and investigators for many months and that the meetings had become marathon sessions in recent days, as they sought to assess the case count by count, witness by witness and defendant by defendant.

“We’ve completed a very exhaustive, in-depth evaluation of the entire case, and based on all the evidence . . . these are the charges against the defendants that warrant prosecution in Superior Court,” Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Gil Garcetti said. He did not elaborate.

No Determination

However, the prosecutors said they had not made a determination about whether the five are actually innocent of the charges that had been lodged against them.

“Our review was directed at assessing whether there was sufficient evidence to convict them,” Gunson said. “It is unfair to the suspects to say we believe they’re guilty but are not going to proceed with them . . . and unfair to the children to say, hey, they’re innocent.”

Reiner also said Friday that he had removed from the McMartin trial team two prosecutors on the preliminary hearing unit who reportedly expressed doubts about the strength of the case as early as last spring.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Christine Johnson asked for reassignment, according to Garcetti. Deputy Dist. Atty. Glenn Stevens was removed from the team.

The McMartin case began in September, 1983, when a Manhattan Beach mother told police her 2-year-old son had been molested at the prestigious school. His nursery school teacher, Raymond Buckey, was arrested but released for lack of evidence. The following March, he was arrested again and indicted by the Los Angeles County Grand Jury, along with the other six.

Graphic Detail

At the preliminary hearing for the seven, which began in August, 1984, 14 children clambered atop a booster chair on the witness stand to testify in graphic detail to sexual abuse and threats, while spectators watched the proceedings on television in an adjacent courtroom. One child was permitted to testify by closed-circuit television.

Last summer, prosecutors rested their case after calling only a third of their scheduled child witnesses, prompting the judge to dismiss two-thirds of the original charges. Defense attorneys presented a brief “affirmative defense” before resting Jan. 9.

THE McMARTIN CHARGES The district attorney’s office announced that it will take these cases to trial:

Raymond Buckey, 27, was bound over by municipal Judge Aviva K. Bobb on 82 counts and held without bail. District attorney will try him on 80 counts:

1 count of conspiracy.

67 counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under 14.

12 counts on lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under 14 by force.

He remains in jail without bail.

Peggy McMartin Buckey, 59, was ordered by Bobb to face 24 counts and to remain in custody in lieu of $1-million bail. District attorney will try her on total of 21 counts:

1 count of conspiracy

18 counts of lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under 14 by force.

She remains in custody in lieu of $$500,000 bail.

The district attorney’s office had dropped cases against all the following:

Virginia Mcmartin, 78, had been ordered by Bobb to stand trial on one count of conspirtacy. Bail was set at $5,000.

Peggy Ann Buckey, 29, was ordered by Bobb to stand trial on eight counts. Bail remained at $10,000.

Mary Ann Jackson, 58, had been ordered to stand trial on four counts, with bail set at $400,000

Betty Raidor, 66, had been held to stand trial on 10 counts, with bail standing at $750,000.

Babettee Spitler, 37, was held for trial on four counts, with bail set at $400,000.