Virginia mcmartin biography

McMartin preschool trial

1980s day care sexual abuse case

The McMartin preschool trial was a day care sexual abuse case in the 1980s, prosecuted by the Los Angeles District Attorney, Ira Reiner.[1] Members of the McMartin family, who operated a preschool in Manhattan Beach, California, were charged with hundreds of acts of sexual abuse of children in their care. Accusations were made in 1983, with arrests and the pretrial investigation taking place from 1984 to 1987 and trials running from 1987 to 1990. The case lasted seven years but resulted in no convictions, and all charges were dropped in 1990. By the case's end, it had become the longest and most expensive series of criminal trials in American history.[2][3]

Initial allegations

In 1983, Judy Johnson, mother of one of the preschool's young students, reported to the police that her son had been sodomized by her estranged husband and also by McMartin teacher Ray Buckey.[4][5] Buckey was the grandson of school founder Virginia McMartin and son of administrator P

Indictment: The McMartin Trial

1995 American TV series or program

Indictment: The McMartin Trial is a 1995 American film made for television that originally aired on HBO on May 20, 1995. Indictment is based on the true story of the McMartin preschool trial.

Oliver Stone and Abby Mann were executive producers of the film, which was directed by Mick Jackson.

The cast includes James Woods and Mercedes Ruehl, as opposing defense and prosecuting attorneys in the McMartin trial. Henry Thomas, Sada Thompson and Shirley Knight co-star as the defendants in the case, with Lolita Davidovitch as a child-abuse therapist whose findings were crucial to the prosecution's case and Roberta Bassin as the mother who initiated the case.

Summary

A defense lawyer defends an average American family from shocking allegations of child abuse and satanic rituals. After seven years and $15 million, the trial ends with the dismissal of all charges. George Freeman is the star witness in the trial. Kee MacFarlane and Wayne Satz are in a romantic relationship. The poster and ads for the m

The McMartin Preschool Case: Satanic Panic and Child Sexual Abuse Allegations

  • Print
  • Cite
    Article Details:

    The McMartin Preschool Case: Satanic Panic and Child Sexual Abuse Allegations

    • Author

      Sara Kettler

    • Website Name

      aetv.com

    • Year Published

      2022

    • Title

      The McMartin Preschool Case: Satanic Panic and Child Sexual Abuse Allegations

    • URL

      https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/mcmartin-preschool

    • Access Date

      February 16, 2025

    • Publisher

      A+E Networks

In the 1980s, allegations of ritualized child sexual abuse were made against multiple preschool and daycare workers across the United States. In the McMartin preschool case (1983-90), hundreds of children at the school, located in Manhattan Beach, California, close to Los Angeles, described being abused, at times during Satanic rites, in response to suggestive questions.

Seven teachers were indicted amid a firestorm of parental panic and media interest. Only two went to trial, and no one was convicted.

A&E True Crime explores what spurred the case, the trial itself and the aftermath.

W

Copyright ©yambump.pages.dev 2025