McMartin preschool trial

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McMartin's pre-school court was a daily sexual abuse case in the 1980s, demanded by Los Angeles County Prosecutor Ira Reiner. McMartin family members, who operate preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, are accused of sexually abusive acts against children in their care. The allegations were made in 1983. Pretrial arrests and investigations lasted from 1984 to 1987, and trials lasted from 1987 to 1990. After six years of criminal trials, no confidence was obtained, and all charges were dropped in 1990. When the trial ended in 1990 , it was the longest and most expensive criminal trial in American history. The case is part of the daily sexual harassment hysteria, a moral panic over Satan's alleged ritual abuse in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Video McMartin preschool trial

Tuduhan awal

In 1983, Judy Johnson, mother of one of Manhattan Beach, California, a pre-school student, reported to the police that her son had been sodomized by her estranged husband and by McMartin's teacher, Ray Buckey. Ray Buckey is the grandson of Virginia McMartin school founder and son of Peggy McMartin Buckey's administrator. Johnson's belief that his son had been abused began when his son had a painful bowel movement. What happened next is debatable. Some sources state that at the time, Johnson's son denied his suggestion that his preschool teacher had abused him, while others said he confirmed the harassment.

In addition, Johnson also made several more allegations, including that people at daycare had sex with animals, that "Peggy drilled a child under the arm" and "Ray flew in the air." Ray Buckey was questioned, but not prosecuted for lack of evidence. The police then sent a form letter to about 200 parents of students at McMartin school, stating that their children may have been abused, and asked parents to question their children. The text reads:

September 8, 1983. Dear Parents: This department is conducting a criminal investigation involving child molestation (288 P.C) Ray Buckey, a Virginia McMartin Pre-School employee, was arrested on 7 September 1983 by the Department. The following procedure is obviously unpleasant, but in order to protect the rights of your children and the rights of the accused, this investigation is necessary for a complete investigation. The records indicate that your child has or is currently a student at preschool. We ask for your help in this ongoing investigation. Ask your child a question to see if he or she has been a crime witness or whether he or she has been victimized. Our investigations show that possible criminal acts include: oral sex, genital mutilation, buttocks or chest area, and sodomy, possibly under the pretext of "taking the child's temperature." Also photographs may be taken from children without their clothes. Any information from your child about having watched Ray Buckey leave the class alone with a child during each nap period, or if they've watched Ray Buckey tie up a child, that's important. Please complete the attached information form and return it to the Department in a sealed envelope stamped as soon as possible. We will contact you if circumstances dictate the same. We ask that you keep this investigation very confidential due to the tremendous nature of the accusations and emotional effects that may occur to our community. Please do not discuss this investigation with anyone outside your immediate family. Do not contact or discuss investigations with Raymond Buckey, a defendant's family member, or an employee connected to McMartin Pre-School.

Johnson was diagnosed and hospitalized for acute paranoid schizophrenia and in 1986 was found dead at his home from a chronic alcoholism complication before the preliminary hearing was concluded.

Maps McMartin preschool trial

Hundreds of children were subsequently interviewed by Children's Institute International (CII), a Los Angeles abuse therapy clinic run by Kee MacFarlane. The interview technique used during the investigation of the allegations is highly suggestive and invites children to pretend or speculate about the alleged incident. In the spring of 1984, it was claimed that 360 children had been abused. Astrid Heppenstall Heger performs a medical examination and takes a photo of what he believes to be a scar scar, which he claims is caused by anal penetration. Journalist John Earl believes that his findings are based on an unproven medical history. Subsequent research has shown that questioning methods used in children are highly suggestive, leading to false allegations. Others believe that the question itself may have caused a false memory syndrome among the children questioned. Finally only 41 of 360 original children testified during the grand jury and pre-trial trial, and fewer than a dozen testified during the actual trial.

Videotape interview with children was reviewed by Michael Maloney, a British clinical psychologist and psychiatric professor, as an expert witness on interviewing children. Maloney is very critical of the interview techniques used, referring to them as inappropriate, coercing, directive, problematic and directed by adults in a way that forces children to follow rigid scripts; he concluded that "many of the children's statements in the interview were produced by examiners." Transcripts and recordings of interviews contained much more speech from adults than children and showed that, although highly coercive interviewing techniques were used, initially the children were resistant to the interviewer's attempts to gain disclosure. The tape of this interview is very important in the jury's refusal to punish, by showing how children can be forced to give clear and dramatic testimony without being abused. The technique used contradicts California's guidelines for case investigations involving children and child witnesses.

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Strange allegations

Some of the allegations are described as "weird", overlapping with accusations that reflect the pretense of a recently demonic torture ritual. It is alleged that, in addition to having been sexually abused, they see the witches flying, traveling in a hot air balloon, and being taken through underground tunnels. When shown a series of photographs by Danny Davis (McMartins lawyer), one child identified actor Chuck Norris as one of the perpetrators of violence.

Some of the harassment allegedly occurred in secret tunnels under the school. Some excavations found evidence of old buildings on site and other debris from before the school was built, but no evidence of a secret room or tunnel was found. There are claims of debauchery in car-and-airport washers, and children are doused into secret rooms where they will be abused, then cleaned and restored to their parents. Some of the interviewed children talked about a game called "naked film stars" which showed that they were naked forcibly photographed. During the trial, the testimony of the children stated that the naked movie star game is actually a rhyming ridicule used to tease other kids - "What you say is what you, you're a naked movie star," - and has nothing to do with nude pictures taken.

Johnson, who made the initial allegations, made strange and impossible statements about Raymond Buckey, including that he could fly. Although prosecutors claim Johnson's mental illness was caused by court events, Johnson admitted to them that he was mentally ill before. The evidence of Johnson's mental illness was held from defense for three years and, when administered, was in the form of a deliberate report that excluded Johnson's statement, on the orders of the prosecutor. One of the original prosecutors, Glenn Stevens, left the case and stated that other prosecutors had detained evidence of the defense, including information that Johnson's son did not actually identify Ray Buckey in a series of photographs. Stevens also accused Robert Philibosian, deputy district attorney in this case, lied and held evidence from the court and defense lawyers to keep Buckey in jail and prevent access to liberating evidence.

src: www.nydailynews.com

Trial

On March 22, 1984, Virginia McMartin, Peggy McMartin Buckey, Ray Buckey, Ray's sister Peggy Ann Buckey and Mary Ann Jackson's teacher Betty Raidor and Babette Spitler were charged with 115 child abuse allegations, and then thrived into 321 child abuses. involving 48 children. In the initial 20 months of trial, the prosecution, led by lawyer Lael Rubin, presented their theories about sexual harassment. The testimony of children during the initial trial was inconsistent. Michelle Smith and Lawrence Pazder, co-authors of the ritualistic torture ritual autobiography that is now discredited Michelle Remembers, met with parents and children involved in the trial, and was trusted by Glenn Stevens first prosecutor to have affecting the testimony of children. In 1986, a new district attorney called the evidence "very weak," and dropped all charges against Virginia McMartin, Peggy Ann Buckey, Mary Ann Jackson, Betty Raidor and Babette Spitler. Peggy McMartin Buckey and Ray Buckey remained in custody awaiting trial; Peggy McMartin's warranty has been set at $ 1 million and Ray Buckey has been denied bail.

In 1989, the appeal of Peggy Anne Buckey to regain her teaching mandate after their suspension was granted. The judge ruled that there was no credible evidence or proof leading to a suspended license, and that an interview review was recorded with McMartin's children "revealing [no] evidence implying [Peggy Ann] in any error and... cast doubt additional credibility with respect to the children interviewed or in connection with the value of the CII interview technique itself. "The next day the Sacramento attorney's council authorized Buckey's powerful and restored right to be taught.

Actor with confession witness

During the trial, George Freeman was summoned as a witness and testified that Ray Buckey had confessed to him while sharing a cell. Freeman then attempted to flee from the state and confessed to a false oath in a series of other criminal cases in which he produced testimony in exchange for the favorable treatment by the prosecutor's office in other cases, in some cases making the jail's prison confessions of other inmates. To guarantee his testimony during the McMartin case, Freeman was granted immunity to previous false allegations.

Exemption and dismissal

In 1990, after three years of testimony and nine weeks of consideration by the jury, Peggy McMartin Buckey was released on all charges. Ray Buckey was released on 52 of 65 charges, and was released on bail after more than five years in jail. Nine of the 11 members of the jury at a press conference after the trial stated that they believed the children had been persecuted but the evidence did not allow them to state who had harassed without hesitation. Eleven of the thirteen jurors who stayed at the end of the trial voted to relieve Buckey of the charges; the rejection of the two remaining persons to vote for an innocent verdict resulted in a deadlock. The media is very focused on two jurors who choose guilty at the expense of those who believe Buckey is innocent. Buckey was repeated later on six of the 13 counts, which resulted in other jurors being hung. The prosecutor later surrendered to try to gain a conviction, and the case was closed with all charges against Ray Buckey dismissed. He has been imprisoned for five years without ever being convicted of any crime.

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Media coverage

Media coverage generally tends toward non-critical acceptance of the claimant's perspective. David Shaw of the Los Angeles Times wrote a series of articles, which later won the Pulitzer Prize, discussing the defective and slanted coverage presented by his own papers at the hearing. It is only after the trial that the scope of deficiencies in evidence and events presented by witnesses and prosecutors has been discussed.

Wayne Satz, at the time was a reporter for the ABC Los Angeles KABC affiliate television station, reported the case and the children's allegations. He presents an unparalleled view of the claims of children and parents. Satz then made a romantic relationship with Kee MacFarlane, a social worker at Children's Institute International, who interviewed children. Another example of a media conflict conflict occurred when David Rosenzweig, editor at the Los Angeles Times who oversaw coverage, was engaged to marry Lael Rubin, the prosecutor.

src: www.washingtonpost.com

Legacy

The trial lasted seven years and cost $ 15 million, the longest and most expensive criminal case in the history of the US legal system, and ultimately yielded no conviction. Preschool McMartin was closed and the building was dismantled; some defendants have died. In 2005, one of the children (as an adult) withdrew the allegations of abuse.

Nobody has ever done anything to me, and I've never seen them do anything. I say many things that do not happen. I lied.... Whenever I give them an answer they do not like, they will ask again and encourage me to give them the answer they are looking for.... I feel uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed that I am dishonest. But at the same time, being the kind of person I am, whatever my parents want me to do, I'll do it.

Dalam The Devil in The Nursery , Margaret Talbot untuk The New York Times meringkas kasus ini:

When you ever believe something that now attacks you as unreasonable, not even bent, it's almost impossible to call that confidence anymore. Perhaps that is why it is easier for most of us to forget, rather than try and explain, the Samanic-abuse fears that gripped the country in the early 80s - the myth that Satanists have set up shop in our daycare centers, where their clever experts raped and sodomized children, practiced ritual sacrifices, took off their clothes, drank blood and ate dirt, all unwittingly by parents, neighbors, and authorities.

Mary A. Fischer in an article in Los Angeles magazine said the case was "only found," and was spread out nationally because celebre by the spirit of six misplaced people: Judy Johnson, mother serious mental illness who died of alcoholism; Jane Hoag, the detective who investigated the complaints; Kee MacFarlane, a social worker who interviews children; Robert Philibosian, the district attorney who lost the re-election; Wayne Satz, the first television reporter to report the case, and Lael Rubin, the prosecutor.

People

• Virginia McMartin (1907-1995)
• Peggy McMartin Buckey (1926-2000)

Legal

In many states, legislation is passed so as to enable children to testify on closed circuit TV so that children will not be traumatized by facing defendants. This setting is supported in Maryland v. Craig , in which the United States Supreme Court ruled that closed circuit testimony was permitted where it was limited to circumstances with the possibility that minors could be harmed by openly testifying. court. The case also affects how very young children were questioned for evidence in court cases with concerns over their capacity for false suggestibility and memory. The case and others like that also have an impact on the investigation of allegations involving young people. The normal police procedure is to record using videos, recordings or notes in interviews with alleged victims. Initial interviews with children by CII were recorded, and shown to jurors in trials of coercive and suggestive techniques used by CII staff to produce allegations.

The interview was instrumental to the jury who failed to produce a guilty verdict against Buckey, and several similar experiments with similar interview techniques resulted in the same innocent verdict when the jury was allowed to view the recordings. These records are ultimately very valuable for defense in similar cases. In response, prosecutors and investigators began "abandoning their tape recorders and notes" and a guide was made to investigate cases of child abuse that urged prosecutors and investigators not to record their interviews.

Continued alleged secret tunnel

In 1990, parents who believed their children had been abused in archaeologists who hired preschool E. Gary Stickel to investigate the site. In May 1990, Stickel claimed he found evidence of a tunnel, consistent with a children's account, under McMartin Preschool using ground penetrating radar.

Others disagree with Stickel's conclusions. John Earl wrote in 1995 that the floor of the concrete plates is not compromised except for a small patch where the sewer line is tapped. Once the slab is released, there is no sign of any material to be installed or supported by any tunnels, and the concrete floor will make it impossible for the defendants to fill the tunnel after the investigation of abuse begins. The article concluded that the disturbed soil beneath the plates came from the sewer and the construction buried beneath the slab before it was poured. Furthermore, Earl notes that some of the contents of the underside of the concrete plates were dated to 1940.

The 2002 W. Joseph Wyatt report concludes that "tunnels" under preschool are more plausiblely described as the waste holes used by site owners prior to preschool development in 1966. Materials found during excavation include bottles, cans, plywood, inner tubes, as well as the old mailbox of the former owner. Only three small objects were found near the edge of the concrete slab dated after 1966, which Wyatt suggested was most likely dragged into a hole by rats or other scavengers. In addition, Wyatt speculated that Stickel's conclusions were colored by his collaboration with McMartin's children's parents.

Effects on child abuse research

Shortly after an investigation into McMartin's allegations began, funds for child sexual abuse research were greatly increased, especially through the budget allocated to the National Center on Child Abuse and Abandonment (NCCAN). The agency budget increased from $ 1.8 million to $ 7.2 million between 1983 and 1984, rising to $ 15 million in 1985, making it the largest source of funding for child abuse and ignoring prevention in the United States. Most of this budget is used for the study of sexual harassment with only $ 5 million devoted to physical violence and neglect.

Federal funding is also used to organize conferences on ritual abuse, provide an aura of honor and allow prosecutors to exchange tips on how best to gain confidence. A portion of the funds were used to publish the book Behind the Playground Walls , which uses samples of children taken from the McMartin family. The book claims to study the effects of "reported" rather than actual abuse but describes all McMartin's children as victims of actual violence despite lack of faith during the trial and without mentioning the question of the reality of the allegations. Another $ 173,000 grant fell to David Finkelhor using the funds to investigate alleged daily sexual harassment across the country, combining studies on crimes verified by recognized pedophiles and unverified allegations of demonic ritual abuse.

Media

In 1995, HBO produced the Indictment: The McMartin Trial, a film based on the trial.

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See also

src: www.nydailynews.com

Footnote

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References

src: www.nydailynews.com

Further reading

• Butler, EW; Fukurai H; Dimitrius J; Krooth R (2001). The anatomy of the child abuse case of McMartin . Lanham, Md: United Press of America. ISBNÃ, 0-7618-1983-5.

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External links

• Dark Truth About The "Dark Tunnels of McMartin" - A 33-part comprehensive article by John Earl
• preschool trial McMartin, by the Ontario Consultant on Religious Tolerance
• Preschool trial of McMartin at the University of Missouri
• Preschool trial of McMartin in Frontline

Source of the article : Wikipedia