Girl, 5, Tells of Abuses, Threats by Ray Buckey

Clutching a fuzzy yellow toy bear in her arms and nibbling on chocolate chip cookies, a 5-year-old girl testified Tuesday that Ray Buckey, the chief defendant in the McMartin Pre-School case, raped and sodomized her with pencils, forced her to perform oral copulation and threatened to kill her parents if she told anyone about the incidents.

The doe-eyed child, the youngest to testify in the preliminary hearing, was so diminutive that she had to be lifted up and down from the witness stand by a court bailiff. She stared at the ceiling, swiveled in her chair and stuck out her tongue and made faces while she testified.

The girl told the hearing that she and other children--during a game called naked movie star--were forced by Buckey to take off their clothes in the Manhattan Beach school’s bathroom, then dance in a circle and sing a song while their pictures were taken.

The witness, who attended the school from September, 1981, to November, 1983, also said she and other children had been taken on an airplane ride by two unknown women while at the school and was also taken to a house where Buckey, 26, wore a witch costume.

She is the sixth child to testify in the proceedings to determine if the seven teachers accused of 208 counts of molestation and conspiracy involving 41 children at the McMartin school should stand trial in Superior Court. Hers was the first courtroom testimony about the alleged airplane ride, which first surfaced when alleged child victims spoke with therapists earlier in the investigation of the case.

The dark-haired kindergarten student sipped root beer and munched on a cookie as she answered questions regarding the alleged sexual abuses. Both the defense and the prosecution treated her with kid gloves, talking in almost exaggerated, gentle voices and not pressing for detailed answers.

At one point, Public Defender Forrest Latiner complained that the courtroom was too cold for the child, who was coughing and not wearing a sweater. Municipal Judge Aviva K. Bobb replied that the child’s parents would take care of those concerns.

During the direct examination, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lael Rubin asked, “When you were at the school, did Ray Buckey ever touch your bottom?”

“Yes,” the girl answered, in a soft, wispy voice.

“With what?” the prosecutor asked.

“A pencil,” she replied quietly.

The exchange continued:

“Did he ever place any part of his body inside your bottom?”

“Yes. His fingernails.”

“Did he ever place (anything) inside your vagina?”

“Yes. A pencil.”

“Did Ray ever place his penis inside your body?”

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“My mouth.”

“What did he tell you?”

“He said he would kill my mom and dad.”

Rubin did not ask the child to give as many details about the alleged events as have been asked of the five older children who have testified.

The prosecution kept the child on the witness stand for less than 30 minutes during direct testimony. Most of the other children who testified previously spent from an hour to 90 minutes answering questions during that phase.

The child testified that Buckey took off their clothes and that pictures were taken during the naked movie star game by someone. However, she could not remember who the photographer was or what the camera looked like.

Asked if anyone watched the game, she said that only Buckey watched.

During cross-examination, the child said she had learned of the game from her sister, who also attended the McMartin school. She said her sister played the game at home, wearing only a robe and underpants.

Airplane Ride

The defense focused mainly on the airplane ride.

The girl said she and other children were driven to an airport by Buckey in his blue van and she was taken aboard an airplane by two women friends of Buckey named Leslie and Sandy. The girl said the women were the only two adults on the plane, but she did not know if one of the women was the pilot. She was also not able to describe the aircraft or identify the airport.

She said on the way to the airport, they stopped at a house, which she said she could not describe. However, she said there were “all kinds of costumes” inside, including a ghost, witch and two devil outfits.

The child testified that Buckey put on a black witch costume and a pointed hat. She was not asked to elaborate on what happened.

Most of the morning was spent trying to determine if the child was competent to testify--whether she understood the difference between the truth and a lie. The defense, prosecution and Bobb labored over how to phrase competency questions so that the child would understand them clearly.

At one point, the child indicated that her therapist, parents and the prosecution told her what to say on the stand. However, she later said she would not say something on the witness stand was true just because those individuals told her it was true.

Complained to Judge

On several occasions, defense attorney Bradley Brunon had to call out the child’s name several times to get her attention. At one point he complained, “Your honor, she’s devoting as much time to the cookie as she is to me.”

Bobb agreed and asked her parents not to give her snacks to eat during testimony.

Brunon later said outside court that he did not agree with the judge’s ruling that the child was competent to testify.

“She indicated clearly that she accepted a grownup’s version of an incident as the truth,” the defense lawyer said.

Also charged in the case are the school’s founder Virginia McMartin, 77; Peggy McMartin Buckey, 58; Peggy Ann Buckey, 29; Babette Spitler, 37; Betty Raidor, 65, and Mary Ann Jackson, 57.