Minister Testifies in McMartin Trial

A minister who in the early 1980s counseled Manhattan Beach McMartin Pre-School defendants Raymond Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, testified Thursday that the sessions had nothing to do with child molestation.

“I never discussed with Raymond Buckey sexual problems with children,” said Dr. Frank Richelieu, who described himself as pastor of the Church of Religious Science, a metaphysical and motivational denomination, and a licensed practitioner of prayer treatment.

Instead, the Redondo Beach minister testified outside the presence of the jury, “I’ve seen Raymond on general matters regarding his direction in life, his self-image and self-worth, and at one time Raymond was going through a drinking experience.”

Richelieu was subpoenaed by prosecutors, who continue to maintain that the counseling sessions focused on Raymond Buckey’s sexual attraction to young children.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Pounders reserved a decision on whether the sessions are protected by confidentiality, or whether they may be discussed in front of the jury.

Richelieu said that there was “not a word of truth” in a prosecutor’s 1987 statement that entries in Virginia McMartin’s diaries referring to her grandson’s “problem” was a reference to his alleged sexual proclivity toward children.