The woman who ran the school, Peggy Buckey, took care of the kid, even though she had no clue who he was or why he was there until Johnson returned that afternoon to pick him up. Because of Johnson’s circumstances, Buckey took pity on her, and arranged to take on her kid starting in June.
Later that summer, Matthew suffered from pain in the rectal region, and itched all over. Johnson took him to the doctor several times during June and July, but the pediatrician couldn’t determine what might have caused those symptoms. Johnson worried that it might be vaginitis because she had just undergone a bout with it herself, and the boy had been sleeping with her as of late because of his frequent nightmares.
On 12 August 1983, when shopping for groceries, the two-year-old started crying again. Changing his diaper, she saw blood. At the suggestion of others, instead of taking him to his usual pediatrician, she took him instead to one working at the Children’s Institute International (CII), an organization dedicated to detecting and preventing child abuse. There, a young intern examined Billy and concluded that someone had sodomized him.
Johnson went to Manhattan Beach police six days later asking them to investigate possible sexual abuse against her son. Detective Jane Hoag interviewed Billy, who apparently demonstrated knowledge of sadomasochistic paraphernalia. During a subsequent interview conducted 20 August 1983, when asked about how he knew so much about tawdry things, the lad simply said “Ray.”**
Billy indeed knew someone named Ray: specifically Ray Buckey, the 25-year-old son of Peggy Buckey, and grandson of the school’s owner, Virginia McMartin--despite the fact that the child could not identify him in a photograph lineup. Det. Hoag consequently opened an investigation against Ray. She searched Buckey’s bedroom and found such incriminating items as a rubber duck, a graduation gown, and a few pin-up photos cut from a recent issue of Playboy. Based upon this evidence, and Billy’s statement, Det. Hoag arrested Buckey on September 7. But the Los Angeles District Attorney’s officer told her that she needed more and better evidence before they could prosecute.***
Det. Hoag’s superior, Manhattan Beach Chief of Police Harry Kuhlmeyer, decided to find that evidence at any cost. He mailed the following letter to 200 parents of current and former McMartin students:
September 8, 1983You’ll note how Chief Kuhlmeyer and Captain Wehner cautioned parents to keep their investigation “strictly confidential because of the highly emotional effect it could have on our community.”
Dear Parent:
This Department is conducting a criminal investigation involving child molestation (288 P.C.) Ray Buckey, an employee of Virginia McMartin's Pre-School, was arrested September 7, 1983 by this Department.
The following procedure is obviously an unpleasant one, but to protect the rights of your children as well as the rights of the accused, this inquiry is necessary for a complete investigation.
Records indicate that your child has been or is currently a student at the pre-school. We are asking your assistance in this continuing investigation. Please question your child to see if he or she has been a witness to any crime or if he or she has been a victim. Our investigation indicates that possible criminal acts include: oral sex, fondling of genitals, buttock or chest area, and sodomy, possibly committed under the pretense of ‘taking the child's temperature.’ Also photos may have been taken of children without their clothing. 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 tie up a child, is important.
Please complete the enclosed information form and return it to this Department in the enclosed stamped return envelope as soon as possible. We will contact you if circumstances dictate same.
We ask you to please keep this investigation strictly confidential because of the nature of the charges and the highly emotional effect it could have on our community. Please do not discuss this investigation with anyone outside your immediate family. Do not contact or discuss the investigation with Raymond Buckey, any member of the accused defendant's family, or employees connected with the McMartin Pre-School.
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE TO [INDICATE] THAT THE MANAGEMENT OF VIRGINIA MCMARTIN'S PRE-SCHOOL HAD ANY KNOWLEDGE OF THIS SITUATION AND NO DETRIMENTAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THE OPERATION OF THE SCHOOL HAS BEEN DISCOVERED DURING THIS INVESTIGATION. ALSO, NO OTHER EMPLOYEE IN THE SCHOOL IS UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR ANY CRIMINAL ACT.
Your prompt attention to this matter and reply no later than September 16, 1983 will be appreciated.
HARRY L. KUHLMEYER, JR.
Chief of Police
JOHN WEHNER, Captain
Gee. If you got that letter, would you keep it a secret?
_________________________
*Douglas Linder, who has written extensively about the case, gives the Johnson boy’s name as Billy. Other sources say Matthew. Perhaps the child’s name is William Matthew or Matthew William, or one or both names are pseudonyms. Whatever the case, I’ll refer to him as Billy, here.
**I have to point out here that what exactly led to the connection between Billy Johnson and Ray Buckey has always been, and remains to this day a subject of controversy. This is the most cited version of this story that I can find. I should point out that some have averred that Judy planted the notion of sexual abuse by Buckey after her son told her that Ray had taken his temperature. In this narrative, Judy assumed that Buckey used a rectal thermometer.
***Manhattan Beach, CA is located in Los Angeles County.
Click here to see later posts in this series.
awwwww, man, x.dell ..
ReplyDeleteyou weren't kidding when you mentioned unpleasant topics.
it seems a long time to wait 6 days after being told your son shows signs of sodomization, doesn't it. i think i'd be running to the police the same day or the next with a doctor's report.
oh, have a merry christmas!
ReplyDeleteMerry Xmas to you, too, Foam.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how I'd react had I gotten similar news, but I would most likely do as you suggest. Maybe she was hesitant because she had doubts about the doctor's findings?
Yuck!
ReplyDeleteWhy, why, why did she wait 6 days before going to the police? I don't get it. Really don't. No wonder the boy was having nightmares ...
Nothing makes me hate the human race more than child abuse.
ReplyDeleteshh, don't tell the guy we're investigating about this written and printed letter in wide circulation. unbelievable.
ReplyDeletethe thing that jumps to my mind (putting aside all the emotional horror) is that two-year-olds are really hard to communicate with. the knowledge they "demonstrate" one day can disappear the next. Sometimes we project what we think they should know onto them, or what we want them to know, only to realize later they didn't know that thing at all. In this case, how does a 2-year-old demonstrate knowledge of sex toys? (gross to even write that) How can we expect a two-year-old to pick out a photo of a guy?
Roxanne, I'll explore that a bit later, and address the concern you and Foam articulated here. As I said in the preamble to this new series, it's one I've been avoiding because of the "yuck" factor of it. But it's become a significant part of conspiracy research, and I would be remiss in ignoring it.
ReplyDeleteCharles, most people (myself included) can sympathize with your point of view. The problem here is determining whether or not we're actually looking at child abuse, and if so what kind and by whom. This is where it becomes critical to be aware of one's emotions.
Incredible, yes, Benjibopper. But that's precisely what happened.
Also, anyone who has worked or lived with two-year olds (myself included) can certainly attest to their lack of cognitive development (in his monologues, Bill Cosby jokingly refers to them as "brain-damaged people), and how that makes communication a bit of a challenge, despite the fact that they have rudimentary linguistic skills.
As for the photo, I'd have to admit that I have difficulty identifying people in photos (as some here have pointed out to me:-) So, you're right. It's hard to determine what Billy actually knew.
my wife works as a children`s aid worker and has to frequently deal with issues such as this that, if not handled carefully, can grenade quickly with devastating results.
ReplyDeleteit is only very recently that the community at large has become comfortable with the timely reporting of such things as reported above, and in many instances a perp can be protected simply because the person seeing the evidence misreads it, is embarrassed or doesn`t want to get involved...or worse, is a party to the abuse.
Ray Buckey rubbed someone the wrong way either literally or figuratively.
ReplyDeleteAlistair, we're going to be spending some time with this issue. So if your wife (or you) have any professional input for it, I'm all ears.
ReplyDeleteSJ, I woujld suggest figuratively.
I'm thinking what benjibopper was. Craziness! Hi X. Dell!
ReplyDeleteDale, old friend, I didn't see you down there.
ReplyDelete