♪ ♪
(children shouting, laughing)
(distant singing)
(door opens)
Woman: Manhattan Beach Police Department,
crime report: 0067-99.
D.R. number: 85-01713.
Reporting officer Detective J. Hoag.
Date of Report: 8-12-83.
Person filing complaint: Judy Ann Johnson, Mrs.
Report follows:
Mrs. Johnson came to the police station
approximately 10:30 a.m. with her son, Malcolm,
age two and a half years,
and filed a complaint charging Child Sexual Abuse.
Reporting officer conducted an interview with the child and with his mother.
Mrs. Johnson alleges that her son has been molested
while attending preschool in Manhattan Beach.
Complainant reported that her son named Raymond Charles Buckey...
Subject walking from parking lot on campus.
(children shouting)
Man: Passed a group of 12 schoolchildren,
six to eight years of age.
Subject stopped and watched children playing.
Subject was alone and talked to nobody.
TV announcer: The Eyewitness News Team.
From the desert to the sea to all of Southern California,
a good evening. Here's the latest at 6:00.
In a case which has been described
as one of the most bizarre and shocking
ever to involve young children.
Reporter Wayne Satz is now able to bring you
this extraordinary, exclusive story. Wayne.
Tonight's story comes out of the mouths
of over 60 children,
some of them as young as two years of age.
They have allegedly been keeping a grotesque secret.
The secret is they were being sexually molested, (phone rings)
and made to appear in pornographic films.
The children were all attending this preschool... Man: Yeah.
Man on phone: Hi, it's Kelly. Are you watching this?
Man: I'm watching it. Call me when it's over.
Satz: What makes their statements even more extraordinary
and shocking is that the owner of this preschool
is 76-year-old Virginia McMartin,
Manhattan Beach's most honored citizen.
In fact, this home video was shot... Hey, baby.
...at the Chamber of Commerce... Hey.
...giving Virginia McMartin the highest award...
Watch this. Sweaty.
Watch this. ...the Rose and Scroll.
Man: Here, here, here. Look at this. Look. Watch.
To me, there isn't anything that can equal the smile
and love of a small child.
Forgive me, I go on and on when I get started
on my favorite subject: children.
Satz: But last year the mother of one of the students,
Judy Johnson, noticed her two-and-a-half-year-old son
was having a redness on his bottom and having nightmares.
She accused Virginia McMartin's 25-year-old grandson, Raymond Buckey,
seen here in this home movie at the school's Halloween parade.
Ray Buckey. The Manhattan Beach Police sent letters to parents
whose children had attended the McMartin Preschool,
asking them to question their children about possible cases of sodomy,
oral copulation... This is the most sickening thing.
Yeah, and guess who their lawyer wants to take this case off his hands?
Danny, no. Not these people.
The children all replied that nothing had happened.
That was until the district attorney took the children
to this nationally recognized therapist on child abuse,
Kee McFarlane, of C.I.I., the Children's Institute International.
She drew forth horrifying stories of molestation
from literally hundreds of children based on play therapy session
which she videotaped.
I don't think the depth of terror that can be put
into a child should be underestimated.
I've been working this field for 13 years,
and I haven't seen a situation that compares to this.
It's simply horrifying.
They said the teachers mutilated animals at their school...
Oh, God, the poor babies.
...their parents would receive similar treatment.
Is it any wonder that they kept silent?
Danny, this thing is gonna be plastered all over everywhere by tomorrow morning.
I hope so. What a case.
...and that way they don't feel the parents will be killed
because it's the puppets that are saying it, not them.
Satz: Are the children able...
We've been on this case for weeks and it still gives me the creeps.
Yeah. Have you thought about those parents?
The guilt, the betrayal they must be feeling?
God, they trusted their children to these people.
A case like this makes you glad you're a prosecutor.
In the meantime, to the outrage of many parents,
Ray Buckey remains a free man.
The grand jury... Okay, Kelly, I'll take it. The case is mine.
You are crazy to take this on. And you are sweaty.
Hey, come on, Grace. Their lawyer's gettin' rocks
thrown through his window so he chickens out.
Channel 7's got him buried already.
The odds against him are 50 to one the other way.
You really wanna see him lynched?
Do you understand what these people did?
Did to children! Hey, a client's a client.
♪ ♪
(banging) Woman: Open the door. Police!
(loud banging)
Open the door! Police.
Where's your son, ma'am? (toilet flushes)
Hm...
Hey! Look what we got here.
Naked dolls, a robe, women's underwear.
Take a look at that.
Woman: That's a new one.
"Be my baby." Man: Yeah.
Woman: Black cape? Man: Yeah.
Woman: I don't know. Man: Strange.
Woman: Kinda interesting. Man: Buck naked. They're all naked here.
Officer on phone: Hello, Mr. Davis? Manhattan Beach Police.
Your client's just been arrested.
Thanks.
Sorry. Bye.
(tires screech)
(inmates shouting)
Man: What you do? What you in here for? Huh?
Close!
Man: Hey! Hey! Clark Kent!
Clark Kent, what you in here for, man?
Show me your booking slip.
Your booking slip, that pink piece of paper
they gave you when you got in this place!
Come on, put it through the bars, man! Let me see it now!
Come on, let me see, man! Come on!
Come a little closer, man! Come on!
Come on, bring it closer! Closer! Closer!
Give me that!
Whoa! Goddamn!
56 counts of 288-C!
This guy got 56 counts of child molestation! Goddamn!
Hey! You must be that guy on the news!
Buckey! Buckey! (inmates banging bars)
Buckey! McMartin, that's you, ain't it? Goddamn!
(inmates shouting, banging)
Open! Open!
Get out! What the hell's the matter with you?!
What are you starting in here, huh?
(inmates shouting)
Morning, guys.
Whoop! Whoa. Okay.
Congratulations. I hear they had to move you
into the Celebrity Wing with Sean Penn, the Ninja Brothers
and the Night Stalker. I'm Danny Davis, your new attorney.
Kelly couldn't stand the heat, so he got out of the kitchen.
Thank you. Sam, thank you. Come on. Chop-chop.
Attorney/client privilege. Shut the door.
Don't worry, kid. I'm the best there is.
I haven't left anybody in jail yet.
Come on, guys. Give me a break, will ya? Come on!
Geez. Everybody's watchin' your cage. So here's the deal. You don't talk to anybody.
Not anybody. You don't say you did it. You don't say you didn't do it.
You just don't talk. (handcuffs rattle)
What...? Why am I here? I didn't do anything.
Well, congratulations again. You'll be the first innocent client I ever had.
No one in my family has ever been arrested.
This will kill them. Well...
Are you kidding with those glasses?
You look like a child molester.
Get rid of them or it's gonna be a short trial.
Satz: This is a mind-boggling case.
Not only has Ray Buckey been taken into custody,
but now they're arresting his mother,
57-year-old "Miss Peggy,"
as she is called by children.
Hoag: Step back, please.
Satz: They're arresting Peggy Ann Buckey,
who is Virginia McMartin's granddaughter and Ray Buckey's sister,
at Kennedy High School in Newport Beach.
Put your hands behind your back, ma'am.
You don't have to do it in front of the kids.
Excuse me. Satz: They also arrested
62-year-old teacher Betty Raidor
as she was returning with her granddaughter from a stroll.
Okay, move your shoulder in first.
Satz: Mary Ann Jackson, 60, mother of four,
and grandmother of five.
Babette Spitler, mother of two
who had once worked helping abused children.
And, amazingly enough, the grand jury also indicted
the 76-year-old owner of the McMartin School, Virginia McMartin.
I said stop this right now! Oh!
Danny: Hello, my name is Danny Davis.
I'll be representing you for the bail hearing.
Why are we here?
How can the police do this?
You're here because you were indicted by a grand jury
and the police were well within their rights.
What about our rights? The parents were afraid something else
might happen to their children. What do the TV people
think they're doing? That reporter stuck his camera right in my face!
Wayne Satz, he's the Geraldo of local news, but he's usually not wrong.
What's the matter with everybody? Don't they know children make up stories?
A lot of new research indicates that they don't make up stories about child abuse.
Oh, hogwash!
Well, Los Angeles believes it, and the DA believes that this case
is gonna win him reelection. Would you look at us?!
Do we look like child molesters?
Does Ted Bundy look like a serial killer?
I'll need power of attorney over your property for your bail hearing.
Your bail and your granddaughter's is set at $50,000 apiece.
You want my house and my school.
Your daughter's set at $350,000.
Why should I give you something I worked my whole life for?
And your grandson Ray Buckey at one million dollars.
She drove a school bus for years to be able
to get the money to buy this school.
In our neighborhood, she's considered a saint.
In her neighborhood, Joan of Arc was considered a saint and they burned her at the stake.
Just sign here on the X, please.
If you're gonna be our lawyer, you can start by getting my grandmother's wheelchair back.
And where did they put my daughter?
Look, I don't know you.
I don't know anything about you.
If you wanna stay here forever, then don't sign it.
If you'd like to get out on bail in a few days, then please,
just sign at the X. Okay?
(tapping on glass)
No physical contact.
Thank you.
(sighs)
I'll see what I can do about your wheelchair.
Bye. Huh.
Did you see our new poll? Number one concern?
Woman: Child abuse tops crime. I know. Are you surprised?
Boy! You are fast! I've been chasin' you all over.
Can we work out lower bail on McMartin?
'Cause, you know...
Hey, you know, my clients aren't a danger to the community.
So what's the problem? I mean, that's the only justification
for that kind of bail. Am I right? Come on, Stevens.
These people never had so much as a parking ticket, for Christ's sake.
These people are monsters, Mr. Davis.
Do you actually believe children would make something like this up?
I knew it would be someone like you who would take this case.
What happened? Did you run out of drug dealers?
Is she kiddin' with this shit?
I want you to know something.
I care passionately about this case.
Do your bottom-feeding somewhere else.
Don't tell me that you didn't take this case
for the exact same reason I did:
because it's a great case. The media are gonna be all over it.
They're gonna be on this... Shall I state the obvious?
You are an opportunist of the worst kind.
You're using these little children to aggrandize yourself.
They deserve better than that. I intend to see that they get it.
One other thing.
Whatever happened to the presumption of innocence?
Yuppie scum.
♪ ♪
Man: KSDL Mobile One to base.
This is Mobile One in position.
(overlapping chatter)
(overlapping chatter continues)
Man: This is KABC News Van 12.
We are transmitting color bars and tone. Do you have audio and video?
(inaudible)
Reporter: Shock and disbelief
is the reaction in Manhattan Beach today
as the horrified parents and former pupils at the McMartin Preschool...
Reporter 2: Raymond Buckey also brandished a gun
to terrorize the children... Reporter 3: Deputy District Attorney Lael Rubin
says she'll be charging 400 new...
It's a parent's nightmare. The person entrusted to guard and teach their child
is suspected of... Female reporter: The scale of this shocking...
...the children were used for pornography.
Remember how vulnerable they were feeling during the time they were abused.
They need to feel they have power over their own destiny.
Satz: And cut.
Reporter: The children's stories... How was that?
It was terrific. It's even better than before.
Woman: Yeah. And all this in sweeps week, too.
Here they come.
Female reporter: And here comes Virginia McMartin,
who was granted bail two weeks ago along with her granddaughter...
Male reporter: A poll conducted by District Attorney Philobosian's
reelection committee identifies child abuse
as the number one voter concern in the upcoming elections.
We're talking about such acts as rape, sodomy,
oral copulation and fondling.
(shouting)
Hi, did they see all the kids?
Shame on you, Mr. Davis.
(metal detector wand whirs)
(indistinct chatter)
Bailiff: Uh, we cleared a space for the chair up there.
Man: Where?
Right there.
Sorry. Hi. I'm here.
Excuse me. Could you...
We'll be out of here in just about an hour, okay?
Okay. Come on. Get my brother released, too, not just us women.
On a million dollars bail? One step at a time here. Just sit down, please.
You all right?
♪ ♪
So I'm gonna be five or ten minutes here.
I have a few things that I have to present. Just a formality.
Then we'll have you out of here and you'll be on your way home. Okay?
Perfect typecasting. They could be Buchenwald guards.
Look at the old woman.
Man: All rise. Department 100 in the Superior Court
of the State of California is now in session,
Judge Ronald M. George presiding.
Miss Rubin.
Your Honor, the people move to deny bail for the defendants.
What did she say? (crowd murmuring)
We've already set bail.
There have been developments since.
Developments? What developments?
These children and their parents were threatened by the defendants
that if they appeared in court as witnesses they would be killed.
(crowd murmuring)
These threats make them a serious danger to the public safety.
Where is, uh... Where is the proof of this, Your Honor?
I have it in statements by the parents and the children.
Well, I want to talk to those children and verify these things.
You'll get your turn. Continue, Miss Rubin.
Your Honor, the McMartin Preschool was in the business
of orchestrating clear and unequivocal child abuse. Thank you.
Yes, Your Honor. I would like to, uh...
I would like to begin with Peggy Ann Buckey,
the, uh, sister of... of Ray, uh, the daughter of Peggy Buckey
and the granddaughter of Virginia McMartin.
This, uh, young lady was awarded the Higgins Scholarship
for Outstanding Student of... Student Teacher of the Year.
Even to suggest that she be denied bail... Good old Danny.
Next he'll call her a virgin.
...granted to felons and murderers...
Judge: Do you think allegations of abuse against
hundreds of children is any less a danger than, say, the murder of one person?
But there is nothing more than allegations, Your Honor.
I have read the transcripts of the grand jury proceedings,
and I believe they demonstrate the broad scope of this conspiracy.
Denying bail to Miss Buckey, Your Honor, would be more responsive to the media
rather than any precedent... Judge: I think that's entirely out of line,
Mr. Davis.
If there is any case where there is to be no bail in a non-capital case,
this is that case. Yes, Your Honor, but I--
In the interest of public safety,
I deny bail to Raymond Buckey.
I also deny bail to Babette Spitler,
Betty Raidor, Peggy Ann Buckey,
and Peggy Buckey.
Your Honor...
You Honor, I beseech you... Mom.
I beseech you to reconsider. You promised to get us out of here!
What happened?
I don't know what happened.
I... What about the children?
What's gonna happen to my children?
Peggy! I promise you...
I promise you, I will take care of this.
(sighs)
Satz: Mr. Davis.
Mr. Davis. Mr. Davis.
Mr. Davis?
What are you running away for?
What do you want?
I want you to tell my viewers right here and now
that you believe your clients are innocent.
I refer you to their plea. I believe it's "not guilty."
Cut.
Congratulations, Davis.
You just chickened out in front of five million people.
You are such an asshole. Thank you. Thank you.
Satz: I have with me a man who spent two days
in the same jail cell as the key figure
in the most amazing... What are you watching?
Ooh, nice tattoos. What is he, a Hell's Angel?
Here.
Buckey told me in jail that he had penetrated the kids with K-Y Jelly
so it wouldn't tear 'em up. Where does Wayne Satz find these people?
Where he gets the whole thing: from the prosecution.
...schoolchildren how to perform... oral copulation on a man.
From the office sewer pipe!
Man: I told him I was there for the same thing he was.
This case is bad. Can't you get out of it?
Man: I got five kids and grandchildren of my own.
I did not say that my sister stood in front of a classroom
and taught kids how to perform sex acts!
You're gonna have to talk to me, gonna have to tell me everything!
You saw my sister! Who could say that about her?
Ray, you're gonna have to talk to me!
You're gonna have to tell me everything!
Because I am not gonna stand in front of that court
with my dick in my hand waiting for them to throw things at you!
Now, talk to me! I said,
and I mean that there will be no surprises! There's nothing!
This is not a frat initiation at San Diego State.
There are going to be little children on that stand saying that they were hurt!
You have got to be ready for that.
Who could be ready for that?
Hurt by you and your sister
and your mother and your grandmother!
What do you want me to do?! I can't make things up!
All right, all right.
(sighs)
Why would a guy wanna work in a preschool with kids?
I like being with kids.
Never answer that question like that again!
Now, Mr. Buckey, please tell the court
why would a grown man want to work with preschool children?
It was my grandmother's-- Wrong. Wrong! Come on, Ray!
Come on! I could be near the beach.
No, come on, come on. Better, better, come on.
I dropped out of college and I needed a job.
Ah, better. Better.
It sucks, but it's better.
You know that some of the, uh, parents
said you didn't wear underwear to preschool. You aware of that?
No, I didn't wear underwear underneath my shorts.
So you got your dick hanging out in front of these little kids.
They're surfer shorts, they're long.
Oh, your surfer dick was hanging out.
That makes it better. It's a beach community!
I mean, is that a crime now too? No, but it's enough to convict you.
That's all. You could do about 500 years in jail.
Tell me about your relationships with women. Okay?
How many women have you been to bed with, Ray? Just round numbers,
like 20, 30, 50, whatever. One.
Do you mind?
One... one what? One woman.
How old are you? You're what, 25 years old?
You've been to bed with one woman?
Only one! Is that another crime?
When you're accused of child molesting, everything is a crime.
(sighs) You're a fruit, right?
Come on, you like to bite the pillow. Right? No.
Hey, we all thought about it at summer camp. Come on.
I'm not. You can level with me.
Okay. I have a little gift for you here, Ray.
"My name is Ray Buckey.
I don't talk. I don't listen."
Ray, you gotta stop grinding your teeth.
Very unattractive in front of a jury.
Man on radio: You just have to take one look at Buckey
and you know he's guilty.
Rubin: Why aren't we coming up with stuff faster
from the investigators on this?
We really, really have to move quickly on this.
I know. I'm hoping for something from the names of Virginia's diary.
Good. There should be a lot of material in ten years of diaries.
Where are we on the tapes? Uh, we're playin' catchup. More is coming all the time.
Thousands of hours of tapes.
Kee's working overtime.
Woman: When was the last time any of us had any food?
What do you say? Greek? Chinese?
Yeah. Good idea.
Woman: I'll get some takeout menus.
Rubin: What about pornographic pictures? Huh?
They gotta be out there somewhere. Get a list of all the photo labs.
Man: By the way... Oh, and get the FBI
to check out dealers in Scandinavia, too.
By the way, this note. Judy Johnson, the original accuser...
Judy Johnson. Listen, Glenn, we've got hundreds of kids making accusations now.
They've all gotta be checked out and it's all gotta be done quickly.
Thank you. Rubin: Pet stores! Check into pet stores.
They're killing all these animals. There's gotta be a supplier.
We should probably check this Johnson note out.
You know, just to see if this woman is okay.
In the note, she seems kind of, uh...
Well, fragile would be polite.
After all she's been through, you surprised?
I wonder if the defense got this note?
Why wouldn't they?
Oh, and check out all the animal labs too. Good.
Hi there.
You must be Malcolm.
Mrs. Johnson?
I'm Glenn Stevens from the DA's office.
I'll be helping you with your testimony.
I would like to speak to your son as well.
He's been through enough. Malcolm, go inside.
Well...
You know, I'll have to speak to him sooner or later.
I mean, after all, it was your charges
that started this whole case.
Your son is our most important witness, Mrs. Johnson.
Female reporter: Several more preschools are being investigated
for possible links... Male reporter: Parents dropping their children
off at the Hickory Tree Preschool...
Reporter: The owner of the Little Angels...
Reporter 2: Authorities in Manhattan Beach have raided
the Manhattan Ranch Preschool...
Female reporter: They are also asking that any parent...
Male reporter: The owner of the Greenup School in Northridge
has been charged with 16 felony counts
of child molestation.
Reporter: Peninsula Montessori,
number two, and...
Female reporter: Sheriff Block said he believed over 1200 children
may have been molested and swapped with children from other schools.
Man: I'm going to ask you,
this is about the thousandth time,
for the grand jury transcript and the police report!
I mean, if you won't pursue this,
we'll conduct our own investigation!
Not while I'm chief of police, you won't.
Every minute somebody's reporting another child molester.
There's a good reason for that. You see what happened at Greenup today?
Yes, did you hear what happened-- I'm really not sure
how much evidence there is. There's plenty of evidence.
Do you ever watch the news? Let's be careful here.
Or some innocent people will be hurt.
There she is! Child molester!
(inmates shouting)
We're gonna get you, you motherfucking cunt!
Die, bitch! Die! (spits)
(inmates shouting, laughing)
Peggy: They're going to kill me.
Peggy. Peggy, I want you to try to calm down if you can.
Okay? No one's gonna kill you. You don't...
You don't know what it's like here.
You don't think anything like this
can ever happen to you.
I have to go to the infirmary for my medicine.
And they have my handcuffs behind my back.
And they say...
...words to me.
They say they want to hurt me.
I don't know why they put you in general population.
We are going to get you moved. I promise.
You seem like a nice man.
Who are you?
Dean Gits is my name. Remember?
Judge George called and asked if I wanted to represent you.
How old are you? You look like a kid.
39.
You're much too thin.
Reporter: Fire crews were called again last night
to the site of the former McMartin Preschool in Manhattan Beach.
In what is believed to be an arson attempt,
the vacant school buildings were set ablaze
between 3:00 and 4:00 this morning.
The fire was brought under control and there were no casualties.
Authorities suspect there may be a link with the ongoing child molestation case...
Watch your step.
The second time in two months.
Shoulda let it burn.
What a mess.
Watch out for the puddle.
The windows, look how big they are.
You can see right in.
We're on the busiest street in town
and you can see right in.
Anybody could.
Did they have curtains? I don't see any.
(banging)
You think they did it? What do you think?
Well, when I read Peggy the charges against her,
she asked me what a dildo was.
The others are the same.
Mothers, grandmothers. Christian Scientists.
Never as much as a parking ticket.
And yet you have these kids saying that they were raped,
sodomized, made to do pornography.
I don't know.
It's kinda hard to imagine it happening here, isn't it?
I've seen so much in my time, nothin' shocks me.
I don't see any closets. Aren't some of the kids saying that Ray
would hide them in a closet when their parents came?
Isn't that suppose to be on the tapes?
Did you get anywhere with those tapes?
The other side sees the tapes. Our side flies blind.
I'm doin' the best I can. Where are the closets?
Man: Fucking baby rapers! (gunshot)
(tires screeching) Hey!
Let me show you the interview room.
Hi, guys. Children: Hi!
Still busy, I see. It's unbelievable, isn't it?
The parents and the kids spread the word around, there's more coming every day.
Come in.
How many have you taped so far?
Over 300.
And how long is each tape?
Anywhere from an hour and a half to two.
What? We go into preliminary next month.
How am I gonna look at all of these?
We've indexed every charge on our VCR counter. Sandy.
Fantastic.
Let's see. Have a seat.
Uh... let's see.
Chuck Ross. 25-12.
The child says, "Ray and Peggy touched my penis."
Maryann, 32-71.
"Maryann made me kiss her boobs."
35-12. "Chuck says he copulated Betty."
Do you have anything on Virginia?
Heather. Heather. Heather Ross.
Here it is. 26-65.
"Virginia would turn her wheelchair around
and clap while the naked games were going on."
Wow. This is very helpful.
It sometimes takes a while, but the truth always comes out in the end.
(door rattling) Guard: All right, wakey-wakey!
Time to get up! Let's go! Come on! Get up!
What's going on? Move it! Get your things together.
We're moving you. Where are we going?
Chop-chop! Chop-chop!
Over here, come on. That's right, the bag.
Pick up the bag! That's right, put the items in the bag.
Very good. What's happening?
Come on over, help her out here.
We're transferring you. Where are we going?
We're transferring you. Let's go.
Come on. Move it!
Would you please tell me where you're taking me?
Right here. 4203.
Prisoner transfer time, 3:17 a.m.
(woman moans) I don't want to have to share a cell with anyone.
In.
(gasping)
Mom!
Is that... Is that you, Peggy Ann?
It's you? Oh, thank God! Thank God, it's you!
(sobbing)
Oh, it's so... it's so awful here.
There's this woman in the next cell,
and she's... she screams!
All night long she screams! Shh...
Oh, I'm so glad that you're here.
I finally have someone to talk to in here.
Have you-- have you seen Ray?
Is he all right? How is my baby?
They won't tell me anything.
Did they let him go home? I'm so afraid.
I'm so worried about him.
I'm so worried about all of us.
Danny: For God's sake, shut your mother up,
unless you want them to hear every word!
What are you talking about?
What? They're probably bugging you.
You think they'd put you in the same cell out of the goodness of their hearts?
Do they strike you as benevolent people? God!
And they made us take our clothes off
and lay on our tummies on the floor.
And then they'd tie us up.
And I was scared.
They shouted at us and told us to be quiet.
She poked me with her fingers, and it hurt.
Where did it hurt you? It hurt in my bottom.
And some other men were there as well.
Glenn: What did they do?
They watched. And took photos.
And then Ray would take us to the car wash
and we'd have to take off our clothes in the car.
And Ray would be with us in the car and, um,
he would touch us.
These kids are so brave to come forward.
The poor little things actually feel guilty themselves
for the violations they've suffered.
They need all our love and support to help them get through this terrible trauma
they've had to endure
at the hands of the people they trusted.
Female reporter: Kee McFarlane also went on to say
that the children's stories have been remarkably consistent
since the very first allegations were made nearly ten months ago.
What is it? What is so important?
You know we have a preliminary in two weeks.
Hey, Malcolm. Where's Judy?
I thought it best that you talked to Malcolm alone.
Tell him, Malcolm.
He hurt me.
Hoag: Who hurt you, Malcolm?
He poked me.
Hoag: Who poked you?
Daddy poked me with a stick in my bottom.
What's a stick, Malcolm?
This is a stick.
Where did it happen?
In the bath.
Daddy took a bath with me.
Did Mommy tell you to say bad things about Daddy?
Uh-uh. No.
Why don't you, uh, go in to your mom, hmm?
Thanks, buddy.
Do you really believe this is what happened?
What choice do I have?
Could there be some other explanation?
Come on, Jane. Is there?
Well, he filed for divorce. Well, there it is.
Judy doesn't work. She doesn't have anything.
This is her way of getting even, maybe even getting a little money.
We have to file charges against the father. Jane...
If we do that, the defense will kill us with it.
This was the first charge against Ray Buckey.
Malcolm was with his father the night before Judy reported he was molested.
They'll say that's how this whole thing started.
Well, what do you want to do then?
Let the father have visitation again?
No.
No, of course not.
Just, uh...
...tell Judy not to let the father see Malcolm
until we can check this out. All right?
You have no idea what we went through to get these tapes.
We have to watch all of them here.
They won't let me take them to my office.
So I need you guys to help me out.
I want you to take notes on each child.
Write down every single thing you can remember
about him or her.
The first kid we're seeing is, uh, Jonathan Lawson.
Okay.
We can skip him.
I came to the school after... after he was gone.
Well, I think this tape is gonna show that he remembers you.
So let's, um,
refresh your recollection, as they say in the courtroom.
I've got some really crazy-looking dolls to show you.
These are as nutty as anything.
(woman chuckles) Wow, that's weird.
Woman: These kinda look like cupcakes, don't they?
(Jonathan giggles) She has a belly button.
She has hair on her vagina. (giggles)
(mutters indistinctly) Woman: And this one...
This one has a penis. (chuckles)
Now, I'd like you to look at a picture.
Woman: You know him, don't you?
Remember him?
Uh, yeah, I think.
"I think." Woman: Was he a teacher
when you were in school back then?
Um...
No, I don't think I remember him.
Look at his face.
No. Was he around, maybe back then?
No, I wasn't. Who is she to do this?
Shhh, listen.
I didn't see him much. Once or twice.
Woman: The older kids like you have to help the little kids
'cause they're not as smart as you.
And we found out some crummy stuff
happened to these little kids.
Do you think you might be able to help us out?
It didn't happen to me. No? It didn't happen to you?
Somehow I can't remember. I'm not sure about it.
Woman: Well, sometimes some of this stuff
is really hard to talk about.
And that's why we use puppets!
Hi, Snake!
Some of the kids told us they played yucky games
and the teachers would touch them in some yucky places.
Did something like that happen to Jonathan?
To me it didn't.
It didn't happen to Jonathan?
No, it didn't happen to me.
(voices rewind)
No, it didn't happen to me. "It didn't happen to me."
Do you guys remember the tickle game?
Tickle game?
Woman: Come on. Your memory can't be that bad.
All your best friends say you played it.
What's the matter, Snake? Isn't your memory as good as theirs?
Um, I remember the tickle game.
Woman: See? What a good memory!
I thought I had a bad one.
It might be better than you thought.
Maybe you could show us how the tickle game was played.
Jonathan: We'd crawl around,
and they'd try to get us.
They'd go slow and...
...tickle us! (scoffs)
Woman: Was it a naked game sometimes?
They'd go like this, and pull up my t-shirt
and tickle my belly. That's all that happened.
Woman: That's all that happened? Yes.
This kid could end up saving your life.
Woman: Okay. You guys remember the naked movie star game?
Naked movie star game?
It was sort of a fashion show, I think.
Where I'll walk across the room. Turn around and around?
What did the grownups do?
Jonathan: I think...
I'm not sure. Taking pictures?
Boy, you're really somethin'!
Who was taking pictures?
I'm really trying to test your brain here.
It was Ray. I know that. (voices rewind)
It was Ray. I know that. Woman: Amazing!
Amazing! Amazing!
Amazing!
It was scary. He told us to hide in a tunnel under the school.
When our moms and dads came, they wouldn't see us.
And we were all naked,
and we had to do this dance.
And Ray, he killed the horse.
He hit it and it died.
What did he hit it with?
A baseball bat.
He hit it and the horse fell down.
Glenn: Who else was there? The Goat Man.
And then they took us to the airport and we flew on a plane.
The airport? Didn't...
Didn't you tell me it was, uh, the car wash?
Uh, it was the airport,
but the plane had no windows.
(door opens)
You're free. You're out on bail.
Your father's waiting to pick you up in the parking lot.
What? Right now? Right now. Let's go.
What about the others? Are they out, too?
Not Ray. But we expected that.
And your mother's lawyer waived her right to a speedy trial.
Oh, my God. All right. Come on.
I'm going to be on my own here again.
It'll be okay, Mom. You'll be out soon.
I'll leave this comb. Maybe you'll need it.
It'll be okay.
Be strong. I love you.
I don't think I can make it here alone.
What?
I don't think I can make it here on my own.
Okay. Okay. (sobbing)
Okay, I'll stay with you. I'll stay.
I won't let 'em put up bail for me
and I'll just...
I can do that. I can stay. Okay?
No. You go on.
Hurry up, before they change their mind.
Go on.
Go on! Go on.
Woman: Prisoner release here.
(sighs)
I'm sorry. I thought I heard you say thank you
for getting you out. Clearly mistaken.
I can't. I can't. I feel too guilty. Guilty about what?
About leaving everybody behind.
Today, just weeks after new DA Ira Reiner's taking over the reins for...
Incredibly, it's now 11 months since we started bringing you these exclusive
reports on this extraordinary... ...from the first child witness,
a seven-year-old boy named simply John Doe 7.
Reporter: Testimony is expected to contain explicit allegations
highly damaging to the defense,
and the mood here in the courthouse
is one of grim anticipation.
There is no doubt that feelings about the case run very high indeed.
Man: Here they come!
Satz: ...in the whole area of child abuse.
I just hope that it doesn't lead to hysteria and contagion.
♪ ♪
Peggy Ann: Please, the lights are hurting her eyes!
She's got cataracts.
Danny: Hey, come on. What are you doing?
Come on, she has cataracts. What's going on here?
Hey, move that! What are you doing? You son of a bitch!
(grunts)
No one told you to defend the devil!
Ugh! (camera shutters clicking)
Okay, you got what you need?
As you can see, we've put the press in another room
while children testify.
They will have to watch us on closed-circuit TV.
Hi, Sean.
How old are you? Seven.
Glenn: Do you know the difference between the truth and a lie?
Yes.
Glenn: What happens to you when you tell a lie?
Sean: You get in big trouble.
Glenn: Now, Sean, while you were at school,
did you ever play any naked games?
Cowboys and Indians?
We were the cowboys and they were the Indians
and then they would take us and put us in jail, and then they'd touch us.
Glenn: Where did they touch you? Sean: In the penis.
Glenn: Who touched you, Sean?
Ray and Miss Peggy.
Did you ever play any other naked games?
Alligator game.
Glenn: Could you tell us the names of the people
who played the alligator game?
I don't remember.
Oh, well... what other games
did you play, Sean?
Naked movie star? That's right.
Did somebody take pictures of you during that game?
Yea-- Uh... don't remember.
Now, didn't... didn't you tell me that, uh, Miss Virginia
took the pictures during naked movie star game?
Your Honor, leading the witness. Objection.
Objection overruled.
Sean? Did Miss Virginia
take the pictures
while you played the naked movie star game?
Yes.
Did Ray ever touch you with anything
beside his hand? With his penis.
Glenn: Where did Ray put his penis?
In my penis.
Did he say, "In my penis?" Yes.
Thank you.
Danny: Good morning, Sean. Good morning.
Good morning, Snoopy. (chuckles)
I understand your dad calls you "Haystack." Why is that?
I don't know. Do you think it's 'cause of that little hair
that sticks out there maybe? Yeah.
(laughs) Sean, uh,
your mommy took you to a place called C.I.I.
and there you met a lady named Kee
and she showed you some pretty strange dolls.
Yes.
Danny: And the lady, Kee,
wanted to talk to you about penises, didn't she? Yes.
You think that was kinda funny, this lady you just met
wanted to tell you things like that? Sort of.
Kinda weird. She told you she thought
that Ray had touched you on the penis, didn't she? Yes.
And you said no, didn't you? Yes.
Danny: And she just kept askin' that same old question, didn't she?
Sean: Yeah.
And eventually, you said,
"Well, yeah, Ray touched me on the penis."
Objection. Leading. Judge: Sustained.
When you first talked about this, Sean,
you didn't remember anybody taking pictures, did you?
No. And then Mr. Stevens helped you remember
that Miss Virginia took pictures. Sean: Yes.
Danny: And so you said yes, Virginia did.
Sean: Yes. Danny: And you did that because you knew
he wanted you to say that, right? Sean: Yes.
Danny: And you thought if you didn't, it would make him sad, right?
Sean: Yeah.
Danny: You're telling the story that Kee wants you to tell.
Yes.
Danny: And the story that everybody talks to you about this case
would like you to tell. Yes.
Thanks, Sean.
Thank you. And thank you, Snoopy.
Court will recess for 15 minutes.
♪ ♪
(indistinct chatter)
Sean, did anybody tell you what to say when you were in court?
No.
Now, when Mr. Davis asked you
if you were saying the things that everybody wanted you to say, you said yes.
What did you mean by that?
I said it because I know they wanted me to tell the truth,
and I would please them that way.
Thank you, Sean.
Witness will step down. Court will recess. (gavel bangs)
Think we did it or not? It's good, a good trial.
Right. And to really make your day,
during the recess, one of the parents tells the press,
he's found porno pictures of the kids.
Oh, no. Oh, no! But-- but he says he can't produce them
because, listen to this, there are four cops
on the Manhattan Beach Police Department involved in a sex ring.
What? What?! I don't know.
Man: You told millions of people on television
that Jim here was part of a sex ring.
Now say it in front of him.
Okay, you said there were pornographic pictures.
Either you give them to me, or I'll hold you in custody until you do.
There aren't any pictures, are there?
What the hell's the matter with you?
Jim here's got high blood pressure at it is,
without you making up something like that.
Why'd you do it?
We got national coverage for an important issue
affecting the lives of innocent children.
Did you ever hear the term "the end justifies the means"?
Okay, let's strip the bed, and check out the pillow. I got it.
Take it all off. Check it all out. You got it.
Okay.
You're not supposed to bring anything back from court.
It was just something my mother made.
She crocheted it for me.
Okay, take your clothes off, all of 'em. Hurry up. Hurry up.
Hurry up!
Give it to me.
You have to go over every cavity.
Okay, now...
Pull your ears towards me.
Shake your hair.
Pull up your stomach.
Okay. Now, bend over.
Pull open your vagina.
Cough. (coughs)
The reason for the coughing is they like to bring things in stuffed up their vaginas.
Guard: You're kidding. No.
Like drugs, guns.
You wouldn't believe what you can fit up there.
I had one once, brought in six packs of cigarettes.
(laughs)
Can I put on my clothes?
What are you doing tonight? I don't know.
I thought I'd catch the new Clint Eastwood movie. How about you?
I might shoot some pool.
I want to go home.
She wouldn't even let Dad see her naked.
I can't believe they'd do that to her.
Do we have to keep lugging this school stuff around?
Can't we get rid of it?
This is the sixth time we've had to move it.
(sighs)
Gram?
(softly) Gram?
How can you smile? Doesn't it make you bitter?
Virginia: Of course it does.
But who says I can't be bitter
and still enjoy the sight of little kids playing?
(laughs)
Woman: Where did Peggy Ann
touch you on your body? On my dick.
Woman: Did you have to touch Peggy Ann?
Boy: Yes. Where?
Boy: On her boobs.
Did you have to touch any other part of her body
besides her boobs? Her puss.
Did you see Ray do anything to Peggy Ann?
He would put his dick in her puss.
Woman: Did you see Ray do anything to the animals at school?
Boy: He would cut the ears off the rabbits.
Woman: Did Ray say anything while he was doing that to the rabbits?
Boy: He said it would happen to our parents
if we told any of our secrets.
Woman: Did the teachers take you any other place
outside of the school? To Harry's Market.
Woman: And what happened when you got there?
They took us in this storage room
and touched us on our dicks and took pictures.
Woman: Did you go anyplace else besides the market?
To a church.
Saint Cross Church.
What happened at the church?
Boy: The took us down the aisle,
and on the altar they put animals
like birds and rabbits and chopped them to pieces.
Who is "they," Jonathan?
I saw people wearing black costumes
with ropes around their waists.
And it would look really scary.
And sometimes they'd have devil suits on.
Woman: Devil suits?
Yeah. And we were forced to drink rabbit blood.
(all murmuring)
Reporter: The witness, a ten-year-old boy,
gave perhaps the most terrorizing testimony
so far as he told the court about...
Did you hear what he said in there? They'll kill us. I know.
Sacrifices in a church, devils... Just take it easy, Christine.
Glenn, has Rubin been telling Reiner the problems we're having?
I don't know. Well, she told me she would.
I mean, if she doesn't, I will.
...told a rapt courthouse how he was forced to drink
the blood of a slaughtered rabbit.
Satz on TV: What did you think of Brian's testimony?
Do you think there was actually Satanism... Danny: This is unbelievable.
...at the McMartin school? Can you believe this shit?
I mean, sacrifices, group sex,
people walking around in robes. I mean, next they're gonna
have some kid telling about the guy they nailed to a cross,
or the virgin they sacrificed on the altar. This is getting scary.
It's out of control. Don't you think? Hon?
Don't you think so? I do. I think this is out of control.
I believe we may be dealing with a nationwide conspiracy of child predators
who are operating daycare centers as a cover for child abuse.
Reporter: Satanism, devil worship
is being practiced all across the country.
We have all types of perversion.
Reporter: Is cannibalism part of the rituals?
The children have spoken about this...
Children were made to chew pieces
of these children's hearts.
Pieces of their flesh.
Reporter: When parents begin to realize these things
are really happening, and not just something out of the Dark Ages,
it'll be much more difficult for these people
to pull these things off. (children shouting)
When we hear of ritual sacrifices,
our reaction is one of horrific avoidance.
We say things like, "This only happened in the Middle Ages."
It doesn't mean that children are not telling the truth.
(children shouting)
Danny: So where is your storage room?
Man: I'll show you. Danny: Oh.
This is it?
You can see the whole room from the store.
My cashier is over there.
He can see everything from the cash register.
And it's always been this way? Always.
(cash register dings)
Glenn: Is there any way what he said could have happened?
Priest: Well, our doors are always locked.
We had a robbery in the office one night
and the police told us that they wouldn't give us any surveillance
unless we kept the doors locked.
Could someone have broken in?
No. Not without the treasurer or the secretary or the accountant
hearing it from the chapel.
(vacuum whirring)
(reporters clamoring)
Could you hold the door, please?
(clamoring continues)
Reporter: Hold it! Virginia!
Hold that right there.
Are you sure you can ride in the same elevator as us, Mr. Satz?
We might pull out a rabbit and drink its blood,
or take off our clothes and dance around naked.
Miss Buckey, I don't make the news. I just report it.
How do you expect anybody to know your side if you won't tell them
what you're feeling, and that you're innocent?
(elevator dings) You wouldn't be interested and you know it.
All you want is Ray Buckey trapped like an animal!
No comment. Sorry, no comment.
Virginia McMartin flashed kids from her wheelchair!
Peggy Ann Buckey made a three-year-old child copulate her.
You couldn't care less about the truth!
No more questions. What were you thinking? Don't you ever do that.
Don't ever do that again! Why not? This whole thing is a farce.
Nothing happened at school. You know it, and he knows it!
I'm sorry, no comment. Somebody has to be the voice of sanity.
I like your witnesses.
One of them recants,
saying he was making it all up so you wouldn't be sad.
The other says he went to Saint Cross Church
and a rabbit was killed on the altar
and he had to drink its blood.
What are you trying to do, win your case
or audition for "Saturday Night Live"?
Why in the hell did you use them?
Christine: I'll answer that for Glenn.
Because they're the best witnesses we have.
What about the tapes? You have to see them to believe them.
What does that mean? The kids don't have to say anything.
Kee McFarlane and Sandy Krebs tell them everything.
If they say they weren't molested, they say,
"Well, everybody else said you were, so you must be wrong."
And if they say they were molested, say, "Boy, you're really amazing."
Rubin: Well, what did you expect?
The kids were just gonna come out and say,
"Hey, I was raped and sodomized?"
Especially after they were threatened
with harm to their parents?
Reiner: Let me ask a silly question.
Why am I hearing this for the first time?
Didn't anybody look at the evidence a long time ago?
Yes, of course we did. But when we filed the charges, there wasn't time.
There was just too much of it.
We had to rely on McFarlane's logs.
Reiner: Well, aren't they reliable? No. They're not.
What exactly do we have going for us?
We have a confession. Man: Freeman.
The guy who was in the cell with Buckey. Do you believe him?
I don't bring forward witnesses I don't believe in.
I don't like snitches, and neither do juries.
They might not like them, but they're impressed by them,
even if it's only on a subliminal basis.
What about the medical evidence that they were abused?
We can't get any doctor who is independent of C.I.I.
to corroborate it.
No one of stature.
They say it's inconclusive.
Reiner: I want recommendations. Stevens.
Well, there... there are problems with the case.
But there are other considerations, too. Like the media.
Please, leave them out of it.
I'm developing a reasonable doubt on six.
I say drop the charges against the women.
Are you serious? They molested children!
Reiner: What about Buckey? Can we get a conviction?
Maybe. Maybe?
Christine: He wasn't even at the school when four of the children
are saying he molested them.
Glenn: And the kids' stories are changing.
They said that they were taken by the teachers to car washes,
to mortuaries, to cemeteries.
Flown in an airplane to Palm Springs.
Not one piece of corroboration. Not one person saw them.
All right, look. This office can do what it wants.
As far as I'm concerned, I don't intend to drop any
of the charges against any of the defendants.
I think we have a clear duty here.
But we're not even sure about Buckey.
Look, look. Here is a guy who abuses drugs,
who flunked out of almost every school he ever attended,
who sits in this preschool day after day
with his genitals exposed to these children.
And there's something even more significant. What?
Let me have the picture, Glenn.
This a picture of Buckey at a pyramid convention.
You see this woman here?
She told investigators she took him to a motel.
The woman even paid the tab, and Buckey couldn't get it up!
What does that have to do with molesting children?
Put it together with the rest of the evidence, Christine.
Obviously, this is a man
for whom normal sex is not possible.
He had to gratify himself some way. Don't you think this begins to add up?
Maybe, but that doesn't explain his mother, his sister, his grandmother.
The old woman in the dark glasses? Look, Glenn.
You don't think that women are capable of the same desires
and the same aberrations as men?
Philobosian.
208 counts.
Do you think he over-fired?
(laughter)
Could be the election had something to do with it.
You think? All right, all right.
Look, just because we're having some trouble with some evidence,
that doesn't make these people suddenly innocent.
Children don't lie about this kind of thing.
There is a smoking gun out there! I know it!
We've just gotta find it!
Somebody is gonna get drunk and confide in someone.
Somebody is gonna attempt suicide and leave a note.
Somebody is gonna find those pornographic pictures.
That's all we need! One picture! One!
I'd like to say something.
What is this about, Mrs. McMartin? Please be seated.
You told my lawyer that the county will no longer agree to pay him his fee.
I have no more money. They took my school.
I have nothing left.
Mr. Brunen knew what he was getting into
when he took this case, and he's been paid a large sum of money.
He will continue on to the end of the hearing.
I've never accepted charity before, and I don't intend to now.
Then I'll get you another attorney.
I won't talk to him. Mrs. McMartin, do you have any knowledge of the law?
I have something more important. I know the children.
I've had them all sit on my lap.
I think all of you better take a course in children.
It's my decision Mr. Brunen will continue on as your counsel
as to not interfere with this hearing. I will not, and I'll get up
and walk out of this courtroom if you insist! Mrs. McMartin, you will remain
in the courtroom! Mom!
You will have to stay, ma'am. Are you going to use force?
Why don't you have a seat. I will not have a seat.
If you wish to use force, do it.
You're a little bigger than I am.
You are ordered to sit down
or you will be cited for contempt! Danny: Please, Your Honor.
Put me in jail! Your Honor...
I've been in your jail, I know what terrible places they are.
Mom, you want to go to jail?
You wouldn't be able to stand it, you know it.
Mrs.-- Mrs. McMartin! You do not want to go to jail!
Please, Your Honor.
I know how you feel, but this is not the way.
Don't make things worse for your family, please.
Gram?
Just go ahead and sit down.
(phone rings)
Yeah? Judy: Malcolm's butt is red again.
Whoa. Who is this?
Judy?
What... what happened? What? What? Is Malcolm okay?
Judy: He's all right for now.
But the dog's behind is red, too.
And it's missing hair there, too.
Judy, are you trying to tell me
that someone molested your dog?
Judy: Yes. I think it was the Marine. He's been following me.
He's going to kill us, I know it! Judy!
What the hell are you talking about?
Did you ever read the note she wrote describing what happened?
"Malcolm was hurt by a lion.
There was a baby, the head was chopped open and the brains were burned.
Malcolm had to drink the baby's blood."
Did the defense get this note?
I assume Rubin sent it over.
Then we're off the hook, 'cause I sure as hell
don't have time to butt heads with her.
Danny: At the cemetery, you were forced
to dig up the bodies of dead people?
Yes.
Danny: And did the teachers give the kids shovels
to dig up the bodies? Yes.
Danny: Permission to approach, Your Honor.
Now...
these are pictures of some men with numbers under them, right?
Yes. Look at these very carefully, Aaron,
and if you see any of the men who went with you to the cemetery,
draw a circle around their pictures with the red pencil.
Okay?
Your Honor, I would like to indicate, for the record, that Aaron has identified
city attorney James Hahn and actor Chuck Norris.
(murmuring) Thank you.
(theme music plays)
Announcer: This is ABC News Nightline.
Reporting from Washington, Ted Koppel.
Joining us now, live in our Los Angeles bureau, is Daniel Davis,
who is defense attorney for Raymond Buckey,
one of the defendants in the McMartin case.
Mr. Davis, I understand that your first responsibility is to your client
and to come up with the best defense you possibly can for him.
But it doesn't sound as though you're taking any prisoners
among your six and seven-year-old witnesses.
My client is in jail at this moment without bail
because of the statements of these children.
That's good.
Koppel: Is it necessary to be quite that tough with them?
Mr. Buckey is being held, an innocent man without bail...
Doesn't this frighten you? What?
You're getting to be as much despised as the McMartins.
Maybe even more. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah, it frightens me. This case is a nightmare.
They got the train on the tracks, it's rolling, it's winning them votes
and sound bites, but nobody's willing to put on their brakes. Of course it frightens me.
Big train, fast track? I mean, what, you make it sound like it's so exciting!
But it's not! It's taking you nowhere!
Why are you doing this? Look, just get out of this case.
It's gonna cost you your career. Are you kidding?
This case is why guys go to law school.
This case is about justice.
Oh, come on. (turns volume down)
Give me a break. Hey! I'm--
This case is just as scummy as all the others, even scummier!
And, and you know what? If you do win this case,
you're just gonna encourage child abusers to think that they can get away with it.
You know what? You're just like all the rest!
You are so wrong, it's pathetic!
You know, you just say the word "kids," and everybody rushes to judgement.
Hang 'em, fry 'em, just string them up by their fingernails.
How come everybody in America knows these people are guilty?
What about the facts? What about the fucking facts?!
If you're so sure you're right, then why are you yelling?
Because I didn't grow up with the advantages you grew up with. Okay?
I grew up in a slum where everybody called a spade a goddamn shovel.
I'm not a club type of lawyer. I'm just a hack.
Yeah, and maybe I'm part of what's fucking up the system,
because the system is fucked up
and everybody should know about it.
You know what's basically at stake here?
It's called the rule of law.
And I happen to like it!
Judy?
Get off my land, this is sacred property!
Judy?
It's me, Steve.
What are you doin' with that thing?
Don't you touch my children!
Don't you touch my babies!
Or I'll kill you, I'm Jesus Johnson.
Doctor: She pulled out a 12-gauge shotgun on her brother
because she thought he was coming to kill her babies.
All she talks about is how the neighbors are trying to sexually molest her kids.
What is it? Acute paranoid schizophrenia.
And the drinking doesn't help.
What do you mean, the drinking?
She's been an alcoholic for years. Didn't you know that?
(moans)
Judge: We'll recess for a late lunch.
Court will resume at 2:30.
Bailiff: Let's go. Come on. See you after lunch.
Time to go.
We're gonna go through each one...
Come on. Let's go.
All right, easy. Come on.
Okay, dear. Bye, Mom.
See you later. See you tomorrow, dear.
I'll be here, sweetheart. I'll be here.
Bailiff: Come on.
Don't forget to take your medicine.
Come on. Let's go. Don't push me so fast.
Come on. Let's go. Please don't go so fast.
(screams) Peggy!
Peggy Ann: Mom! Virginia: Peggy!
What are they doing? They're not doing anything to her!
No, she's all right. She just tripped. I saw it.
I saw it. She's okay. I don't trust you!
I don't trust any of you! She's gonna be okay.
All I've heard are lies!
Lies from the first day in this courtroom!
Calm down. She's fine.
What's happened to my daughter? She just stumbled.
Hey, Faye. Hey!
Can I buy you lunch? Sure.
We were just going to that Greek place.
They have pea soup today. Okay.
Uh... I can, uh...
speak to you guys off the record, right?
Danny: Whammo!
It's gotta be Glenn Stevens.
He's the only one in that office with enough guts.
This is unbelievable.
Whoa!
Rubin: Are you really naive enough
to think that a reporter would keep it
off the record that the DA's office doubts its own case, Glenn?
And you did it anonymously?
Half the people will think I did it!
This thing's gonna follow my career forever.
How could you do it, Glenn? Why?
Because I think they're innocent.
Don't you?
Come on, Christine. Didn't it get to you?
What about what's right? Wait a minute! Wait a minute!
Where does this sanctimonious tone come from, my friend?
You don't know they're innocent. You are a public prosecutor.
Your job is to see that justice gets served.
For you to go behind everybody's back like this
is unethical and cowardly, period!
If it's any satisfaction to you, I think you have sabotaged this case beyond repair.
Well, if it's any satisfaction to you,
I've sabotaged my career beyond repair in order to do it.
You'll have my resignation, on your desk, in the morning.
(door slams)
♪ ♪ (clamoring)
Reporters: Mr. Reiner! Mr. Reiner!
I have been in conference with my staff.
We've all come to the same conclusion.
The evidence against five in this case
is so incredibly weak, it does not go beyond mere accusation.
(reporters clamoring)
Reiner on TV: We are dropping charges
against five of the defendants in the McMartin case.
Yes! Reiner: On the other hand,
we have clear and convincing evidence
that Ray Buckey molested children.
(reporters clamoring)
Reiner: There is equally clear
and equally convincing evidence
that his mother, Peggy Buckey, was also involved.
Thank you. (reporters clamoring)
Well, he let five go. That's somethin'.
You gotta give him credit for that. Yeah, for what?
Tryin' to have it both ways? He knows he can't get
a conviction with all seven, but he can't let 'em go.
He knows that Ray and Peggy have been kept in jail
all this time without bail on his watch!
He's just looking for scapegoats to cover his ass.
Reporter: There is furious reaction tonight
against the prosecution's latest move
in the case that helped center national attention on the problems...
I'd like Ira Reiner to go to the 300 victims
and explain why these people who have hurt them are allowed to go free.
Look... Look, look. I would never get involved in any vigilante activity,
but I wouldn't want to be one of these defendants walking the streets...
Where's Wayne Satz these days, now that some of the shoes are on the other foot?
Man: ...in our preschools are molesting our kids!
That's a good question, you know.
(knock on door) Woman: Come in.
(phone rings)
Thank you. Hello?
Man on phone: Hello. This is long distance for Wayne Satz.
Just a minute, please. Honey!
Yeah? It's for you, long distance.
Man on phone: Who is this? Is this Kee? Who is it?
Who's calling?
Man on phone: It's Chris Woodyard of The Examiner.
Is Wayne there? It's Chris Woodyard of The Examiner.
Chris: Hello? What'd you answer the phone for?
Chris: Anybody there? Hello?
Chris. Chris: Wayne?
Hi.
(dings)
Hi. What's up?
Man: Been getting a little help from "Deep Throat," Wayne?
What are you talkin' about? The "puppet lady."
How long have you been living with her?
What? Conflict of interest.
Fucking the source of a story. How long have you been doing it?
No wonder you've gotten so many exclusives, eh?
Now, I'm proud of my work on this case.
I won a Peabody and two Golden Mic awards for it.
So just maybe jealousy might be a motive here. Huh?
Please! You're a piece of shit, Wayne.
You're the reason people hate the press.
We are gonna nail your ass so bad--
You try it. But you be careful what you put on the air.
I'm not only a reporter, I'm a lawyer, too, and there are laws about these things.
You can't just say anything you like on TV, you know?
(reporters clamoring)
Danny: I don't think you have anything to worry about. I think it'll be fair.
Just tell it like it is. Tell the truth.
Everything will be okay.
I don't know why I agreed to do this.
You look nice.
She looks pretty, doesn't she?
You look really nice. Mmm-hmmm.
Oh, yeah. Come on. You look good.
Announcer: This is "60 Minutes."
Well, during the time that I was in jail,
the custody of my children was taken away from me.
They were taken from the school that we've placed them in.
They were arrested.
(sighs) I don't know for what.
At that time, my son was eight.
Along with everyone else,
I lost every material possession I ever had.
I lost all my teaching credentials,
which I had gone six years of college to get.
In this country, if you're accused, you're guilty.
God help you if you've got to prove you're innocent.
Fuckin' A, right. That's the way we've been treated from the first day.
Know who should be made to watch this? Ira Reiner.
I could talk all day long... Ira Reiner should be made to watch this.
You gonna get him on camera?
Virginia McMartin, Betty Raidor, Mary Ann Jackson,
Peggy Ann Buckey, their homes,
their money, their honor.
Everything gone. Deserved?
No, of course not.
So who do these people go to, to get their money back
and their life back? The county?
Your predecessor? Children's Institute International?
That's not the sort of question I should be getting into.
Do you think you can get him to grant bail for Peggy?
God, I hope so. She's 62 years old.
They've kept her for 18 months without a trial.
It's unbelievable. The trial itself will take another year and a half.
They can't let this happen. It'll be a scandal.
That's all?
This is it.
Leave it here.
I'll see what I can do.
♪ ♪
Peggy Ann: You always used to love to come here.
No. Peggy, I wanna go home.
No. Mom, not back to that little apartment.
Not yet. Please.
You haven't been outdoors once since you got out.
Please.
I promise, there's nothing here to hurt you.
Okay? Come on.
We'll just take a little walk. Okay?
There's nothin' to be afraid of. It's just us. I know.
Peggy: I know. I know.
No, there's nothing to be afraid of.
But I... I am afraid. I'm so afraid.
I'm afraid they'll come in the middle of the night
again and arrest me.
I mean, I know I've done nothing wrong.
Why is this happening then?
It feels like God is punishing me for something.
All I've ever known is teaching children,
and I can never do that again.
Everything is... lost.
(chuckles sadly) And you... your youth.
You never smile anymore like you used to.
And Ray. Ray...
Ray's still in there. I mean, how can he endure it?
He will endure it.
You did.
Yeah. We all will.
(children laughing)
Come on.
Danny! Danny!
Danny! Wait! Look! Look! Look! I got somethin'!
Look! Look! You gotta see this!
Uh, I think it was September 21st...
Danny, look at this! Superior Court 1962.
I mean, right now. Look. Look.
It came my way last night.
Where'd you get this? Stevens?
Holy shit.
Mr. Davis, can I help you? No.
Sir.
The Judy Johnson discovery.
Would we have a trial if I had this to present in court?!
Don't walk in here without an appointment.
I don't fucking think so! And you don't swear at me.
Judy Johnson. Who the hell...
You knew she was nuts!
She's the main accuser in your case,
and you knew she was a fucking banana!
Do not shout at me. Who the hell do you think you are?!
Why didn't I get this before?!
Who do you think you're talking to here, Mr. Davis?
Are you expecting me to be personally responsible
for every piece of evidence that comes down the pike? Yes, I am!
It was not my job to get it to you. It is your job!
You received a summary! You could have followed up!
Bullshit! Why don't you take care of your side of this?!
Bullshit! Your back's against the wall and you know it.
Why didn't you file charges against Judy Johnson's husband?
She accused him of molesting Malcolm.
The same woman who accused my clients!
You don't see a problem that I didn't get to see this?
Yes, I see a problem. Thank you.
It's not my problem. It is your problem.
I don't know why you didn't get it.
As for Judy Johnson, she only accused her husband
after she became unstable.
She became unstable after what happened to her son.
After damages inflicted on him by your client! Wow.
Who are you? Where did you come from?
Did you read this thing?!
Did you?!
You didn't press charges against Judy Johnson's husband
because you didn't want it to mess up your nice,
neat witch hunt against my clients!
Fine!
You know what I'm gonna do about this?
I'm going to the judge.
I'm gonna ask him to recuse you
and the entire district attorney's office
for prosecutorial misconduct!
Judge: I have seldom seen anything as explosive
as this handwritten letter from Judy Johnson
that was allegedly not passed onto the defense.
The prosecution maintains that they only sent over
a typed-written summary of this evidence earlier
because they were overwhelmed
by the sheer volume of the material.
I accept this explanation,
and am therefore going to dismiss the charges
of prosecutorial misconduct.
However, the court does grant the defense's request
to examine Mrs. Johnson.
Clearly, she is a crucial witness.
(police radio chatter)
Roger. We're at location. Over.
Rubin: Everyday she heard herself being ridiculed
and ripped apart by Mr. Davis on the news.
I would hope the defense attorneys
are now beginning to regret their comments.
Danny: There's nothing beneath the prosecution, is there?
The body's not even cold yet.
Rubin: How do you think she felt
reading everyday in the newspapers
that this case was spawned by a madwoman?
(all clamoring) It is...
It is... it is commendable of the prosecution
to have such compassion for Mrs. Johnson now that she's dead.
Reporter: But did they know it? But they knew from the beginning
that she was mentally ill. But they did not suggest she be helped,
because they were afraid the defense might find out about it.
(reporters clamoring) Thanks... Thanks to the defense,
this woman has suffered more in a few weeks
than most of us suffer in a lifetime.
Danny: Not as much as... And... and... and I tell you,
there but for the grace of God, go you and I.
(reporters clamoring) Reporter: Police investigators say
they believe Judy Johnson's death
was a result of an accidental alcohol overdose.
Mrs. Johnson was a key figure in the McMartin case,
and it was her allegations that lead to the first charges
being filed against Raymond Buckey...
Ta-da!
I know you like to think of yourself as an athlete,
so let's see how many miles you can ride on this thing everyday.
Judy Johnson's dead.
I know, Ray. And it's too bad.
But we don't need her. Thanks, boys.
We don't need her? She was the whole case.
Thanks. Now she's dead.
I can't take this anymore, Danny. You're gonna have to.
Every night, I lie in my bed in that tiny little cell
and my mind whirls around and around.
Why shouldn't I just put a plastic bag over my head,
or slit my wrists, or have someone else
jam a shank through my ear? What am I hangin' around for?
To listen to these kids rip the skin off of me?
Watch my family get humiliated? Watch them lose everything they had?
They hate me, Danny! I'm like Freddy Krueger to these people!
(guard tapping on window) I'm Charles Manson!
I mean, they use my name to scare their little kids
before they go to sleep!
You're right.
I'll never lie to you, Ray.
They do hate you.
But we're gonna make them hate someone else.
We're gonna make the jury hate someone else.
What are you talkin' about? Lael Rubin.
What do you think your case is gonna be, Ray?
I'll tell ya. She's gonna make a big deal
out of the fact that you had a picture from a skin magazine
as proof that you molest children.
She's gonna show that you're a bad guy
because sometimes you forget to wear your BVDs.
She's gonna make the fact that you aren't chasing
everything in a skirt prove that you are chasin' five-year-olds.
What do you think is gonna happen when she shows up in court
with this flimsy rag of a case?
Everyone is gonna see the emperor's new clothes.
They're gonna see through the innuendos and the bullshit and the stories.
And they're gonna see that if somebody is on trial
for screwing people,
maybe it shouldn't be Ray Buckey.
Okay?
Now, son, I want you to get your ass on this bike
and see how many miles you can clock.
Or you can let Lael Rubin and Kee McFarlane
dance all over your grave!
Ta-da!
Come on, son.
♪ ♪
Reporter: Today, nearly four years after the first arrest
in the McMartin Preschool molestation case,
defendants Raymond Buckey, and his mother, Peggy McMartin Buckey,
will finally go on trial before a jury of eight men and four women.
Rubin: Mr. Freeman, did Raymond Buckey confess to you
that he had sex with children?
He said he sexually assaulted children.
Will you tell us the words he used? You want me to?
Yes.
Well, he said he, uh, he fucked a two-year-old boy in the butt.
(courtroom murmuring)
Did the defendant say what he used when he
"fucked this two-year-old boy," to use his words?
Freeman: He said he usually used baby oil and K-Y Jelly.
Rubin: Mm-hm. Did the defendant say that anything happened
when he used the K-Y or the baby oil?
Freeman: Yeah. He said if he didn't use baby oil that, uh,
the boy bled.
Ah, Mr. Davis. It seems we have a bit of a problem.
What is that, Your Honor?
I wanted us to meet because I think Mr. Freeman should have an attorney.
He told me that he committed perjury in other cases.
When did he tell you this? Three weeks ago.
You're telling me that you knew before Freeman got on the stand
that he'd perjured himself,
and you let him testify without informing the court?!
To be honest with you, I hadn't considered the fact
that he might need an attorney until now. (scoffs)
You know we face giving him immunity or calling a mistrial?
Both: Call a mistrial! You can't let this happen.
Do you know how much the state has spent on this case so far?
I don't give a damn how much it cost!
It's a mistrial! This is outrageous!
You may not give a damn, but I do and the people of Los Angeles do.
Your Honor... It is my view that Mr. Freeman must testify.
And the only way to do that is through immunity.
Miss Rubin planned this all along.
Judge: Mr. Davis, my ruling will stand.
So, when Freeman came to you with his problem, what'd you say?
"Don't worry, George, get your garbage in. I'll protect ya"?
I said nothing of the kind.
And let's not go public with this, please.
The district attorney's office and the judge are sayin' to George Freeman,
"Go ahead, lie. Perjure yourself. You won't be prosecuted."
But there's one thing they cannot grant him immunity on, and that is murder!
Reporter: Murder? George Freeman committed a murder?
Why wasn't he indicted? Why not?
Why do you think he wasn't indicted?
Are you suggesting a deal was made not to indict Freeman
if he agreed to testify against Ray Buckey?
I'm not suggesting anything. You draw your own conclusions.
But George Freeman is the prosecution's super-duper,
whopper jumbo cheeseburger deluxe with extra special sauce!
Now, either you swallow it, or you have a delicate stomach
and it smells bad, you don't go near it.
It doesn't make any difference because before this is over,
I am gonna convict George Freeman of that murder!
Thank you. No more questions. (all clamoring)
You don't have anything on this murder, do you? Not a thing, are you kiddin'?
The star witness in the McMartin molestation trial, George Freeman,
was arrested this morning when he failed to show up in court.
Sheriff's deputies tracked Freeman down here,
to his sister's house in the San Fernando Valley,
where he had gone into hiding.
They found him squatting behind a number of boxes in the garage.
He surrendered to the deputies without incident,
and is expected to appear in court tomorrow morning.
Danny: You're upset with me, aren't you?
You know I am. Did it disturb you, what I said
about getting you convicted of murder? I don't care.
Mr. Freeman, have you ever been convicted
of what might be called "willful cruelty to children"?
Yeah. Isn't it true that you once
tied up your mother and sister,
burglarized other parts of the house,
and left them tied up?
Only God would know, right?
Right.
Mr. Freeman,
do you have any credibility, in your own opinion?
No.
Well, that's all. Thank you.
Danny: Did you appear on a program in which Wayne Satz announced
that 60 children were making allegations against Raymond Buckey
before the case had even gone before the grand jury?
I believe I did.
Danny: Didn't it concern you that you might be
compromising the investigation of the case?
Yes, it did, and I was very upset by it.
And I told Mr. Satz so.
You were so upset about it that you moved in with him. Is that right?
Objection, Your Honor. Miss McFarlane's intimate relations
are not an issue in this trial. Sustained.
Do you think you're qualified to judge whether a child has been molested or not?
Objection! Miss McFarlane is not on trial here,
even if Mr. Davis would like to put her on trial.
Danny: What is Miss Rubin afraid of?
Miss McFarlane was touted by the DA's office
as their expert witness, going around the country giving speeches.
What's happened all of a sudden? Are you afraid she won't pass muster?
Objection overruled.
Thank you, Your Honor. Answer the question, please.
Do you think you're qualified?
Since I've spent the majority of my professional life
devoted to the subject, I think so, yes.
What is your educational background as far as diagnosing children?
I have a Master's Degree in social work from the University of Maryland.
Did the curriculum include any study in child abuse? Yes.
Oh. What portion dealt with that?
Well, it's a liberal arts program with psychology,
sociology, and those basic courses cover children.
Well, have you ever treated children in the psychiatric sense?
I don't understand what you mean.
You know what psychiatric is. Have you ever heard of that? Psychiatric?
Objection. Would you instruct Mr. Davis
to stop harassing the witness?
I think if this witness doesn't know what psychiatric means,
and she has presented herself as an expert,
then the court ought to know about that. Don't you think?
Objection overruled. Thank you, Your Honor.
Answer the question, please. Have you ever treated children
in a psychiatric sense? No.
How have you treated them?
I've treated them as a social worker.
You worked in Maryland and New Jersey and California. Is that right?
Yes. Were you licensed in New Jersey or Maryland?
Not licensed.
Are you licensed in California? No.
You are not licensed to work as a therapist
or a social worker in any state, are you?
That's correct. Danny: Thank you.
Where'd you learn these techniques that you used with these children?
Kee: From working with families and attending virtually
every conference on child abuse in the country.
I don't know of any library that's more extensive than my own on the subject.
Permission to approach the witness, Your Honor.
And I would like to mark into evidence defense exhibits...
KK-LL. KK-LL.
Your Honor.
Thank you.
You use dolls like these? Yes.
Why?
Kee: To familiarize the children with their body parts
so they're able to talk about it.
It's very difficult for them to say the words.
Some of them aren't even able to articulate what's happened to them.
How do you know anything happened to them? I made a determination.
Some of them were in your office only a few minutes
before you undressed these dolls. How could you tell?
By the way they were acting.
By their not wanting to talk about it.
Did it ever occur to you that they didn't talk about it
because nothing happened? Something happened to them, Mr. Davis.
You used different dolls to represent the teachers, did you not?
Yes. Did you choose black dolls
to represent Raymond Buckey, Miss McFarlane?
The children pick the dolls.
Your Honor, I would like to present into evidence
sections of the video tape made by Miss McFarlane of the children.
Thank you. Thank you.
Kee on video: Under their dresses they have bloomers.
And the little boys have, guess what, down here?
A real looking penis.
Now, which doll do you think
would be good for Ray? Girl: I don't know.
Okay, how about... this one.
Okay?
What I like is their hair.
Even though it doesn't really look like real hair. Does it?
Girl: It's fuzzy.
Look! He's got a little hair
on his great big ugly penis!
Were you trying to teach these children a little bit of racism?
I don't associate the use of dolls of different color
with racism.
You weren't tryin' to make them think
that Ray Buckey was a bad man, were you?
I don't perceive a black doll as inherently having a negative characteristic.
How about when you remove the doll's pants and add,
"Oh, he has hair on his great,
"big, ugly penis?"
I commented about all of the dolls.
I was trying to let them know I was the kind of person they could say anything to.
And who is this?
Miss Peggy. Miss Peggy.
Now, doesn't she have funny looking boobies?
Look at these little hard things that stick out.
Have you ever seen boobies with these lines in them?
Some of the kids at school told me that her real name is Miss Piggy,
'cause she's kinda fat. Is that true?
Why do you call her Miss Piggy instead of Miss Peggy?
What do you mean when you talk about her boobs with lines?
I don't think you understand how frightened these children were.
An attempt to jog their memories, sort out which teacher was which.
All right, Mr. Monkey, are you gonna be stupid
or are you gonna be smart and help us out here?
'Cause some people think you're stupid, Mr. Monkey.
Well, I'll be smart. You will?
Mmm-hmm. Okay.
Monkey's a chicken,
and he can't remember any of the naked games.
But we think that we know a game that Mr. Monkey remembers.
It's the naked movie star game.
Do you remember that game? Or is your memory too bad?
Danny: You told Sam that he was stupid,
and that he was a chicken,
and that his memory was too bad. Is that right?
I was talking to the puppet.
You don't think little Sam thought you were calling him dumb?
If I believed that, Mr. Davis, I wouldn't have said it.
Now what the other kids did is they took this doll of Ray
and they started... like that.
(banging)
Wanna punch him like the other kids did?
Go ahead.
That's it. (banging)
Good for you. Good for you.
You wanna punch him? Go ahead.
Why did you encourage her to beat the doll
that was supposed to represent Ray?
Don't you think this kind of thing
leads the children to believe that he was a bad man?
Not at all. It was therapy.
It's best that they let their anger out,
rather than keeping it bottled up inside of themselves for years.
It can become a time bomb if it's repressed.
Sandra Krebs, your assistant. You taught her your technique. Did you not?
Yes, I did. And she was initially employed
as your video camera operator, was she not?
You seem to give a great priority to formal education, Mr. Davis.
Miss McFarlane, this was, in your words,
"One of the biggest molestation cases
"in the history of the world."
Why didn't you hire the most experienced person you could get?
Because some of them wouldn't have had the courage to do what had to be done.
What courage was that? Simply to find out the truth.
Remember all the times
your mom asked you if anything happened?
159 times.
I know what we'll do.
We tried this with another little girl.
Here's Big Bird.
Now, what this little girl did
was she squeaked once for no and twice for yes. (toy squeaks)
Can you do that?
Once for no and twice for yes.
When Jennifer was touched at the school,
was it a hand that touched her?
(squeaks once) No.
Did Ray sometimes do yucky things to some of the kids?
(squeaks once) No.
Sometimes people we like can touch kids
in places that are uncomfortable and scary.
Did you know that Ray did that to some of the kids?
(squeaks once) Danny, Kee: No.
We don't want to hear any more, "No's."
No, no, no, no, no!
You told this child's parents that she was molested, did you not?
We said she was in denial. Did the parents see all of the tapes?
I beg your pardon? Did they see all of the tapes, Miss McFarlane?
No. We were interviewing 400 children and more were calling all the time.
So all you had to do was press fast-forward on the VCR,
and you had at your fingertips each child saying whether or not
he or she had been molested, is that correct?
You give me too much credit, Mr. Davis.
The very idea that after an hour or two with me, a child would say
he was molested even if he wasn't
makes me out to be some sort of genius.
Children...
between three and six
can be very easily tricked.
They are at this developmental stage of magical thinking.
It is very easy to intimidate them.
You did make that statement, didn't you, Miss McFarlane?
I knew what would happen when I put myself on the line with these tapes.
I knew people like you would pick apart every word, every inflection.
But somebody had to do it, Mr. Davis, so the children could tell the truth.
The truth? Was what you got the truth?
What are you trying to suggest?
I would deliberately plant false ideas in their heads?
Is what why you think I entered into all of this?
No, I think you entered into all of this for a very noble reason:
to help children that you honestly thought had been traumatized,
and maybe spare them going through another trauma in this very courtroom.
But I also believe that you must have known
what a dangerous technique this was, highly suggestive,
a technique that was meant to be used
where abuse was already an established fact.
And yet, in this case, there was no such evidence that abuse had occurred.
And you went ahead and used this technique anyway.
And this technique became the evidence.
That's ridiculous. Of course there was abuse.
The children told me, I heard them, and you and the entire justice system
are trying to stop them from telling the truth.
Well, I don't blame you for not wanting to face reality, Miss McFarlane.
Because the reality is this:
You didn't listen to these children.
You closed your ears to the truth
that they were so desperately trying to tell you.
You ended up implanting instead in their fertile imaginations
a memory of something that never happened.
Why would I do that? Well, I don't know why, Miss McFarlane,
I do know that Mr. Satz came along, didn't he?
And then you suddenly became the Joan of Arc of the children's movement.
Your Honor... You were the champion of children's rights,
their savior. Judge: Mr. Davis!
Maybe it all went to your head.
Maybe the power trip was too much to resist.
Rubin: Your Honor... What power trip?
Mr. Davis... A halo around your head.
On Oprah every afternoon at 3:00.
You were on a role, weren't you?
Your Honor, objection! Judge: Mr. Davis!
That's enough. Objection sustained.
Thank you, Your Honor. I have no more questions.
Reporter: Raymond Buckey has now spent five years in jail
without bail, a new record in California history
which has generated criticism in legal circles.
But today, in a major defense victory,
Judge Pounders has granted him that bail
and placed him in the custody of his attorney, Daniel Davis.
(reporters clamoring)
How does it feel to be out? Ray! Ray! Come on, Ray, speak!
(clamoring continues)
Danny: Come on, Mr. Buckey. You know you're a pedophile.
You can't cut it with anyone but children
because you can make them do anything you want.
Please answer the question, Mr. Buckey! Stop it! Stop it!
I can't take this anymore. All right, all right. Cool down.
This is the kinda crap that they're gonna keep
shoveling at you all day long tomorrow.
And you've got to look every one of those jurors in the eye, Ray.
You keep lookin' away from 'em.
I need you to connect with every single one of them.
I can't do that. Why not? What are you afraid of?
I just spent the last five years in jail. All right, here we go.
I don't know how to behave anymore.
I mean, here's this woman who tells lies about me
and puts my mother behind bars
and then rips the skin off me every chance she gets.
How do I know I'm not just gonna jump out of the witness box
and strangle her or burst into tears?
Because that's exactly what she wants you to do.
Okay, you told me what you're afraid of.
You wanna know what I'm afraid of?
I'm afraid...
that I'm just a back alley lawyer.
I represent drug dealers and scumbags for a living.
I'm afraid Lael Rubin and Ira Reiner
and the entire DA's department is just gonna eat me alive.
But I've got one thing they haven't got, Ray.
I've got you.
And the only thing you've got...
is me.
So tomorrow, I'm gonna swallow my fear
and I'm gonna get up there and I'm gonna fight 'em.
And you're gonna tell them something
they haven't heard in that courtroom yet in this trial, Ray.
You're gonna tell them the truth.
And the jury is either gonna believe us or they aren't, son.
If they believe us, Ray,
you're gonna be a free man.
And if they don't... Yeah.
You understand? I understand.
Mr. Buckey, you've heard all these children...
Rubin: ...accuse you of sodomizing them,
of killing animals,
of threatening to kill their parents if they told anyone.
Were all these children lying?
No. Not all of them. What do you mean, not all of them?
Well, I think some of the children
were lead to believe these things happened.
Permission to approach, Your Honor? Judge: Granted.
Do you recognize these pictures?
What's the matter? You afraid of them?
Look at them. Pick them up.
Will you tell the jury what's on the first one, please?
It's a picture of a man giving oral sex to a woman.
Why did you keep it?
Self gratification.
You masturbated with them, did you not?
Will you tell the jury how you did that, please?
What do you mean? Isn't it true that you pasted this
to the window of your apartment and masturbated on the bed
in a position where people in the street could see you as they walk by?
No, that's not true. That's not what two of your neighbors said.
You can't see into my bedroom from the street.
You think a person who does this should work at a preschool?
I don't think it has anything to do with the preschool.
Then why did you tear this up when the police came?
Why did you flush it down the toilet?
I was afraid of what they might make out of it.
What might they make out of it?
What you're trying to make out of it now.
Isn't it true that you regularly sat facing the wading pool
at the preschool in your shorts without any underwear
with your genitals exposed to the children?
No. That isn't true. I didn't wear underwear,
but my shorts came halfway down my thighs.
You're a normal heterosexual typical young man. Is that true, Mr. Buckey?
I don't know if there is such a thing, Miss Rubin.
Isn't it true that the only gratification you have ever had
or ever will have is with these children, Mr. Buckey?
That you are incapable of having satisfactory sex with a grown woman?
(sighs)
I may have done some stupid things in my life.
And I am far from perfect, but I have never had sex with a child.
I've never hurt a child.
And I have had satisfactory sex with a grown woman, Miss Rubin.
Mmm-hmm.
Do you have an interest in pyramids, Mr. Buckey?
Danny: Objection. Irrelevant. Judge: Overruled.
What are pyramids?
They're supposed to have a positive effect
on living things.
It helps you sleep if you put one over your bed. It's just a fad.
Did you fly to a convention where pyramids were sold?
Objection. Your Honor, I think we better approach, if we may, please?
Very well.
Your Honor, I must object.
Miss Rubin is trying to convert pyramids
into pentagrams and turn my client into Dracula.
You categorize Peggy Buckey as a caring teacher.
Would a caring person allow somebody who abuses drugs
and flies off to pyramid conventions to work at her school?
Objection overruled. Continue.
Permission to approach, Your Honor? Granted.
Is this a picture of you at a convention holding a pyramid?
Yes. You see the woman on the right-hand side
of the photograph?
Ray: Yes.
Danny: Who is Diana Sullivan?
(sighs) I told you about her.
We had an affair.
She told two investigators otherwise.
I don't see what it matters whether or not I slept with her.
Well, I think the DA is gonna bring her here
and get her to tell the jury that you don't have sex with women.
And it's going to hurt us, Ray.
I don't think she'll do that. Oh, really? Why is that?
Because, what, you've become a secret stud all of a sudden?
Ray?
I just... I don't think she'll do that.
Ms. Sullivan, did you ever tell someone in 1984
that you had never had sex with Raymond Buckey? Yes.
Who was it? My fiancee.
And to the investigators that interviewed me seven years ago.
And why did you tell them that?
Because I wanted to protect my reputation and my marriage.
And in the last few weeks, did some people associated with Miss Rubin's office
come and visit you at your home in Montana?
Yes.
Danny: Would you tell us what they did, please?
They wanted to speak to me about my testimony.
They questioned me in front of my children.
My kids thought I was gonna go to jail.
What did they want?
They wanted assurances that I would testify
that I never had sex with Mr. Buckey.
Danny: And did you and Raymond Buckey in fact have sexual relations?
Yes. Danny: Thank you. That's all.
Would you describe yourself as promiscuous?
No. I really don't think so.
Have you been enjoying the publicity
you've been getting from this trial?
No. I know my children are gonna read about it in the paper.
Did you have any difficulty having sex
with Mr. Buckey? How do you mean, difficult?
Was it necessary to orally copulate Mr. Buckey
in order to have sex with him?
No.
Rubin: Didn't you tell that to investigators?
No, I did not. Rubin: Are you sure?
It's not the language I would have used.
What language would you have used, Ms. Sullivan?
I would have said... head. (laughter)
This is Mr. Buckey's seventh day on the stand.
Miss Rubin has gotten the allegedly most notorious child molester in history
to reveal that he did not wear underwear,
that he smoked marijuana, that he believed in pyramid power,
and was a virgin until 24.
But there seems to be little connection to the case that claimed...
Rubin: Thank you. ...400 child molestations
and launched nationwide hysteria.
Rubin: Were these items found in your room, Mr. Buckey?
Ray: Yes.
You've been interested in pornography for a long time.
Haven't you? How old were you when you drew this picture?
I was about 11. Don't you think this is rather sophisticated
for a boy that age? I used to pick up "Playboy" magazines and copy from those.
You drew pubic hair there, didn't you?
I drew nipples there too, see?
Let's talk about pyramids again.
Are these your books? Yes.
You think it's normal for a man your age
to believe in pyramids?
Well, I... I laugh about it now.
You laugh about it now, but you weren't laughing about it then.
No, I... I guess I wasn't.
You see an item on this table called a Raydome?
Yeah. But that's just what it's called. It has nothing to do with me.
That's not what I asked you.
Isn't it true that a Raydome is supposed to have
40 times the effectiveness of a regular pyramid?
Objection, Your Honor. It calls for speculation
as to the wattage of the Raydome.
(laughter)
Danny: Are these delightful items yours, Mr. Buckey?
Ray: No. Whose are they?
They're my sister's. Who bought them for her?
Her boyfriend's father, as a joke.
Is this your doll collection? No.
Whose is it? It's my mother's.
She kept them for her nieces to play with.
Now... what is this?
It's a pyramid hat.
A pyramid hat.
(laughter)
Like this?
It's, uh... it's backwards.
Oh. (laughter)
Mr. Buckey, is it possible that pyramid power
drove you to molest children?
No. Is it possible that pyramid power blanked out your mind
so you forgot horrible events like molesting children?
No. Is it possible...
you never molested children at all? Yes.
Look the jury in the eye, and answer this question.
Danny: Did you ever molest a child?
No.
♪ ♪
Feel like working out?
The jury came in.
What, you just heard?
No, I heard last night.
They're reading the verdict, uh, at the opening of session this morning.
They're hung on 13 counts, Ray.
Is that good or bad?
Your mother's charged with 13 counts.
So if they're hung on her...
it's not so good for you, is it?
Could be just a coincidence.
And it's not the end of everything.
I can keep you out on bail, I think.
We'll appeal.
We have grounds for appeal, I think.
I'm sorry, Ray.
I never thought 12 people would believe this.
I wasn't good enough. Oh, hey.
You did your best.
You know, you did the best you could.
I always knew this was the way it was gonna go.
I'll survive.
Judge: You have reached 52 verdicts?
Juror: We have, Your Honor.
Judge: If you'll present those forms
to the bailiff, the court will read the verdict.
The clerk will read the verdict.
In the case of the People of the State of California
versus Raymond Buckey and Peggy McMartin Buckey,
we the jury in the above entitled action find the defendants,
Peggy McMartin Buckey and Raymond Charles Buckey,
not guilty... All: Oh!
as charged with lewd acts with children
under the age of 14 in violation of Penal Code
Section 288-A, Felony.
Oh, my God.
Judge: Is this your verdict?
Juror: Yes, Your Honor.
Judge: So say one, so say you all?
Juror: Yes, Your Honor.
Judge: Does the prosecution wish to have the jury polled?
I should like to thank the members of the jury
for your participation in this most important case.
(all clamoring)
Oh, my baby! Oh!
(all clamoring)
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
We are! We're very happy.
It's over! I used to watch you, wondering what you must be thinking.
How hard it was on you. I saw you wipe away a tear once in a while,
but it didn't happen very often.
We read your mother's diary.
That school was your life. You loved kids,
and we could all see that. I'm not bitter.
I was raised not to be bitter.
We...
We lost everything.
We don't have anything!
Mama! (sobbing) We don't have anything!
Do you think they'll try your client again on the hung 13 counts?
If they put those children through this again,
it will be the biggest molestation of all.
I think everyone agrees that justice was done here at last.
Today we're investigating McMartin outrage.
What went wrong?
Does it spell the doom of child abuse cases?
Man: I could not do what the jury had done.
The justice system may have been served today, but justice was not.
Wake up, America. This is your wakeup call.
Geraldo: Despite the shocking and painfully...
There are some really upset and angry parents here.
We have a network of parents all over America.
These charges will be filed again.
Feelings are running very high in the courthouse.
This doesn't diminish what those children have lived through
or will have to face for the rest of their lives.
Female reporter: ...and who hoodwinked our legal system.
We have reached a decision to have a second trial on the McMartin case.
(groaning, murmuring)
We're glad you could come.
We'd like to talk to you about something I think you'll be happy about.
Where's Rubin? Man: She is no longer on the case.
She asked to be reassigned to Santa Monica.
It couldn't have anything to do with "The New York Times"
calling some of her behavior "sleazy"
and some of her remarks, "unprofessional," could it?
Let's get to the business at hand.
We'd like to spare the county the expense of going through this thing again.
Enough money has been spent. So here's... You looked at the tapes.
You finally looked at the tapes, didn't you?
(laughs) Now, we haven't spoken to Reiner about this,
we'd have to make a hard sell, you understand... That's bullshit. Okay?
We wouldn't all be sitting here if you hadn't already talked to Reiner.
He's running for Attorney General.
All you need is to lose again,
and you're lookin' for a way out. So,
what's the deal?
I'll tell you where I'm coming from.
I would personally urge Reiner to accept a nolo plea.
(sighs) Hmm...
Let me run it by my client.
You don't have to plead guilty. Okay? So you can just say
that you're takin' the deal because it's too good to turn down.
You take one count on each child and that's it. No time.
Doesn't that mean I'm saying I'm guilty?
No. It means you're saying, "I'm taking the deal
"because it's too good to turn down."
That's it? That's all?
And you have to register with the police.
Register as what?
That you're a sex offender.
You wanna go up and take this crapshoot again?
I'm sure as hell not gonna let them win without going to trial.
Trial? A trial. We can't go through another trial, Ray, and you know it.
You speak for yourself! Don't even think about it.
I'm tired, I'm exhausted and I'm burned out!
And you can't take anymore.
I remember you were gonna put a shiv through your ear.
You were gonna hang yourself with your shoe laces in your jail cell.
Yeah, yeah, okay. So don't say another trial.
So I thought about killing myself. Okay?
But never, not once, not in my worst time.
Now, listen to me, Danny.
Not once did I ever think
of giving them what you want me to give them now.
No way! I'm not putting on a piece of paper that I'm a pedophile. Never.
Ray, they say it ain't over until the fat lady sings.
I think she's already sung.
Thanks.
Hey! How are you, Danny?
Ray, how do you feel about goin' through another trial?
Fine. He feels fine about it. The DA wants to make me a deal.
And he wants me to let them off the hook.
I turned it down. Ray?
Just a second. Hey!
Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Come on!
I made a deal with Martinez to keep this under wraps.
It's too late. (clamoring)
Hi.
Mr. Martinez!
Mr. Martinez! Did you try to cut a deal with Ray Buckey?
Never. Not in a million years.
We wouldn't offer Ray Buckey a deal in his wildest dreams.
Thank you. Good day. Do it.
He's lying his ass off. What?
I said he's lying his ass off.
Mr. Martinez is a liar.
I had a meeting with him. I tape recorded the meeting.
Perhaps you'd all like to hear it.
Martinez on tape: I'll tell you where I'm coming from.
I would personally urge Reiner to accept a nolo plea.
Thank you. Thanks, Danny.
You were right.
The fat lady had another song in her after all.
(people murmuring)
Judge: Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
have you reached a verdict?
Juror: We have been unable to come to a conclusion
on any of these nine counts.
We are irrevocably deadlocked
and will never come to a conclusion.
♪ ♪
Reporter: The McMartin case is finally over,
after seven years and 15 million dollars
and without a single conviction.
It's odd, isn't it?
Seven years, and then in one minute...
it's over. It's so strange.
It isn't over, not for me.
When something like this hits you,
you don't start your life over again so easily.
Not at my age.
Not when most of it's gone.
We don't mean to sound ungrateful, Danny, we are grateful.
I know. But...
this thing is gonna stay with us.
People have short memories. There's another astounding headline
in the papers, another case on TV. People forget.
Woman: Look, that's them. The child molesters.
Child molesters!
What is your problem? Huh?
You wanna say it to my face?
Child molesters, you see?
They don't forget.
And they don't care that they've ruined our lives.
And not just ours, the parents, the children.
How come God didn't stop it?
Oh, no. Don't blame God.
What happened to us was all the work of people.
God wasn't let into it.
Who had the time to stop and listen to God?
They were all too busy watching television.
♪ ♪
(choral music plays)
(children laughing, shouting in distance)