Expert on Pedophilia Testifies : Rebuts Buckey’s Contention on Abuse of Children

As the 2 1/2-year-long McMartin Pre-School molestation trial nears its end, the prosecution has called a nationally known expert on pedophilia to rebut defendant Raymond Buckey’s contention that he could not possibly be a child molester because he had sex with an adult female.

Dr. Gene Abel, a professor of psychiatry at Emory University and director of the Behavioral Medicine Institute in Atlanta, testified that 90% of child molesters also are capable of being sexually aroused by adults.

Abel, who has assessed and treated nearly 3,000 molesters and conducted the largest controlled study of pedophiles in the United States, told the jury earlier this week that “an individual can be a child molester and still have plenty of arousal by female adults.”

Abel testified as a so-called rebuttal witness. After both the prosecution and the defense present their cases, each is given an opportunity to present witnesses to rebut evidence introduced by the other side. When the rebuttals are finished, the attorneys will make final arguments, the judge will instruct the jury and deliberations toward a verdict will begin.

The defense is expected to call its own pedophilia expert during its rebuttal.

Studied 272 Molesters

In his most recent work, an unpublished study involving 272 unincarcerated molesters, Abel said he found that 60% of those who claimed to be exclusively heterosexual in their adult preferences had molested both young boys and girls.

Abel’s testimony, which concluded Monday, contradicted that of Buckey, who testified last month during the defense’s presentation of its case that he believed that it is “common sense” that pedophiles do not have sexual relations with adults.

“That’s mixing apples and oranges,” he told prosecutor Lael Rubin.

Asked to explain, Buckey, 31, said, “If you have a perversion for children, you wouldn’t . . . have any desire for a female adult.”

He testified that he had had an ongoing and normal sexual relationship with one woman, and that he found sexual release through adult pornography. Buckey staunchly maintained that he had never felt sexual desire for children.

Try to Avoid Mistrial

Calling Abel’s testimony “significant and a kind we have not heard previously in this trial,” prosecutors said they are more than half-way through their rebuttal. They have condensed their presentation from an estimated two months into three weeks at the judge’s request that proceedings be speeded to avoid a mistrial. The jury has dwindled to the final 12, with no alternates left to replace any panelist unable to complete the final weeks.

Rebuttal witnesses have included former neighbors of Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey, who are charged with 65 counts of molestation and conspiracy involving 11 youngsters who attended their family owned Mahattan Beach nursery school. The prosecution has also called investigators who trailed Raymond Buckey for several months, interviewed witnesses who later changed their stories, and assisted in interviewing the alleged victims.

Rubin said Tuesday that the prosecution expects to call about five more witnesses--possibly including “a mystery witness or two” and several witnesses who claim that they were intimidated or threatened by a defense investigator.