Finding Truth in Child Abuse

The article (Opinion, Feb. 2), “The McMartin Case: Is Reiner Right?”, by William J. Genego, an associate clinical professor of law at USC Law Center, reminded me of the old saying, “The Buck Stops Here.”

Well, Ira Reiner stopped it, much to his credit, after Judge Aviva Bobb took the easy way out and passed the buck to Reiner.

As Genego said, “No one can dispute that it would have been much easier and publicly popular for Reiner simply to proceed to trial against all seven defendants.” Given the political ramifications that will hound Reiner for his courageous decision, he should be applauded for upholding the integrity of the district attorney’s office. Integrity was sadly lacking in former Dist. Atty. Robert Philibosian’s regime.

In the marathon McMartin nightmare, the “buck” should have been stopped long ago, starting with the Manhattan Beach Police Department. It conducted a sloppy, inept investigation, resulting in the complete destruction and devastation of innocent people.

Above all, the “buck” should have stopped with then Dist. Atty. Philibosian. His principles of prosecution during an election year were “win at any cost” and to hell with ethics. Philibosian conducted his election campaign on the backs of the McMartin defendants.

There is plenty of blame to go around. Kee MacFarlane, highly acclaimed by Dr. Roland Summit, and her crew from the Children’s Institute International were “the primary source of information for the initial decisions made in the case.” In my opinion, the taped interviews she and her co-workers made showing the children being questioned and badgered, hour after hour, were in fact, child-abuse.

In the words of Genego, “It is truly unfortunate for all involved . . . that the prosecutorial principles properly leading to the case being reduced in scope could not have been applied at the outset.”

JACKIE STARMER

Redondo Beach