For the 5, There’s Relief--and Bitterness

There was relief and satisfaction Friday among the five defendants who learned they will not have to stand trial in the McMartin Pre-School child molestation case. After two years of protesting their innocence, they are free.

There were also expressions of bitterness. Some threatened to sue for compensation and accused former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Robert H. Philibosian of bringing to court what they termed a weak case in an effort to bolster his political standing.

Peggy Ann Buckey, 29, sister of Raymond Buckey, 27, and daughter of Peggy McMartin Buckey, 59--the only two remaining defendants--expressed mixed emotions. “I’m relieved,” she said, outwardly calm. “But I’m also still concerned because my mother and brother are still in jail.”

Other Charges Questioned

She said she cannot understand why Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner, who defeated Philibosian in an election not long after the charges were filed, decided against dropping the counts against the remaining two. “The cases against the five of us are absolutely no different than those against my mother and my brother,” she said.

Peggy Ann Buckey said she had not talked to the two because they remain in jail. But she did talk Friday to her grandmother, Virginia McMartin, 78, who is among those whose cases were dropped by Reiner.

McMartin, founder of the McMartin school, said through her attorney that she did not wish to be interviewed Friday.

Defense attorney Bradley Brunon said, “I am pleased that the personal suffering is over for Virginia McMartin, but the final chapter is yet to be written.

‘Unfounded Charges’

“It is unthinkable that under our system of criminal justice unfounded charges can cause such ruination to an innocent citizen. I am hopeful these dismissals will lead to the investigation of the methods used in interviewing children and the personal motivation of the individuals involved in this case.

“I am also hopeful that in the future media will adopt a more neutral attitude to this type of charge so that the truth can be found without the accompanying media-induced hysteria.”

Peggy Ann Buckey insisted that the case was originally filed partly because Philibosian “had his campaign and he used us as a way to get publicity.” She blamed “misused power, ignorance and people’s political careers. . . .”

Dropping the charges against the five defendants, she said, was long overdue. “When they looked at this case, they should have seen it was nothing. Why did it take so long to come up with this decision?”

‘Crazy to Go Ahead’

And she added, “I think it’s crazy for him (Reiner) to go ahead still (with the other two defendants).”

She said she had no plans, other than working with lawyers for her mother and brother “to have the truth come out.”

The seven were indicted by the Los Angeles County Grand Jury in late March of 1984 while Philibosian was locked in his unsuccessful battle for reelection against Reiner, then Los Angeles city attorney. Philibosian lost his post to Reiner in June of that year.

Filing the charges, Philibosian said Friday, was a decision reached by “competent, ethical prosecutors” who felt there was “a reasonable expectation of a conviction. . . .”

Betty Raidor, 66, who taught at the preschool for more than 20 years and whose case was also dropped, said: “I never did anything wrong; I know nothing ever happened.”

Raidor, a gray-haired grandmother of nine, sat on a couch in the living room of her daughter’s Manhattan Beach home for a news conference, while three of her nine grandchildren played outside.

She said the parents of the children who reported the alleged molestations should realize that they had been misled. “If they (the parents) would stop and really and truly think back to the real picture of what the McMartin school was, maybe they would realize they had been fooled,” she said.

Faith in the Others

Raidor said that she was sure the two remaining defendants in the case would be cleared at trial or before. “I regret it will take longer for them to be vindicated. I have complete faith that they will be,” she said.

Raidor said she had lost her house and life savings in paying for her defense and will sue for compensation.

And former McMartin teacher Mary Ann Jackson, 58, another of those now cleared, said: “My family and I have suffered. There have been moments of terror.”

The white-haired Jackson, who talked to reporters at the offices of her attorney, said she is “just thankful to be able to have been brought through this terrible ordeal. My family survived and I am thankful.”

Wearing a gray shawl and silver necklace, Jackson was smiling as she entered her attorney’s conference room and remained composed. “I cannot bring myself to become angry,” she said, “not today.”

Costly Defense

Jackson, who worked at the McMartin school between January, 1979, and June, 1980, said she and her husband had spent two years of their lives and their life savings defending the case. She blamed hysteria and the political ambitions of Philibosian for what she called a weak case.

Jackson’s attorney, William Powell Jr., who was at her side during the news conference, praised Reiner for making “a courageous decision” to drop charges against his client.

“My only criticism is that it was not made sooner, back when the case began,” he said.

Jackson acknowledged that the public might have lingering doubts about her innocence because she was not acquitted at a trial.

“I could understand that,” she said. “They have been told by the press (about the accusations). They have been whipped into a frenzy. . . .

“I would love to be able to wipe the slate clean, but to willingly go into something after what I have been through, I don’t know if I could willingly do that.”

Question of Damages

Powell said that his client had not decided whether to seek damages, adding that a lawsuit or special appropriation from the Legislature are possible avenues of redress.

Asked what she would say to the McMartin parents who believe in the guilt of the freed teachers, Jackson said: “That is the most difficult thing. . . . I would think they would feel betrayed. I would only appeal to them to really think quietly about this, and search their thoughts. If I could say something to make it easier, I would, but I don’t think it would be accepted from me.”

Jackson has four grown children and six grandchildren.

Eliseo Gauna, attorney for Babette Spitler, 37, another defendant cleared in the case, also criticized Philibosian. “I believe it was his blind political ambition that was the reason for prosecution prior to investigation,” Gauna said.

Gauna said the decision to drop the case against his client was “smart . . . right,” adding that he had been looking forward to going to court and “kick some derriere.”

Deputy Public Defender Forrest Latiner, who represented Peggy Ann Buckey, said: “I’m happy, but there’s an uneasiness about it. I’ve come to love the defendants in this case in a sense of family. I know their innocence, and I know that what the kids have said is simply not so. . . .

“My uneasiness is that there are still two of the family that are not only facing trial but are still in custody yet. I’ll never rest easy until they are acquitted as well as the other five.”