McMartin Preschool Trials: 1987-90

Exactly three months later, on August 12, Judy Johnson called the Manhattan Beach Police Department. She said her two-and-a-half-year-old, Billy, had been molested by Ray Buckey, Peggy Buckey's 25-year-old son, a part-time aide at the school. At Johnson's suggestion, the police interviewed a dozen parents of children enrolled at the school. None thought their children had been sexually abused. Additionally, Billy Johnson could not identify Ray from photographs. Nor did medical examinations of the boy reveal any signs of abuse. Searching Ray Buckey's home, the police confiscated ordinary household items—including pictures from Playboy magazine—and subsequently arrested him on September 7, 1983. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office, however, found insufficient evidence for a prosecution.

Shortly thereafter, Manhattan Beach Police Chief Harry L. Kuhlmeyer wrote to 200 parents of current or former McMartin students, telling them of Buckey's arrest and asking them to question their children regarding whether Buckey had engaged them in "oral sex, fondling of genitals, buttocks or chest area, and sodomy." The letter, enclosing a reply form, suggested that "photos may have been taken of the children without clothing," and concluded that "any information from your child regarding having ever observed Ray Buckey to leave a classroom alone with a child during any nap period, or if they have ever observed Ray Buckey to tie up a child, is important."