McMartin Judge Angered by 2 Articles in The Times

The judge in the McMartin Pre-School molestation trial reacted angrily Monday to publication of two stories in The Times on Sunday, calling their appearance “insensitive” and “prejudicial” at a time when unsequestered jurors are deliberating the fate of Ray Buckey and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William Pounders said he was most concerned about a cover story in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, which four jurors said they saw. The story, which dealt with child molestation, was about an unrelated case.

Five jurors said they saw an article on Page 1 that discussed the impact of the McMartin ainvestigation on Manhattan Beach, where the nursery school was located. The jurors, however, said they did not read the articles and said their deliberations, which began Nov. 2, would not be affected.

The Times, in a prepared statement, said both articles referred to the effects of child molestation allegations and noted that both “were intended to discuss broader societal issues reaching well beyond the facts of any particular case.”