2nd McMartin Trial to Begin Next Week

The second trial of McMartin Pre-School molestation defendant Ray Buckey will begin next week as planned, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Stanley Weisberg announced Tuesday.

Buckey, who was acquitted of 40 charges of child molestation last January, still faces eight counts of sexually abusing three girls who attended his family’s Manhattan Beach school.

The judge had postponed the start of jury selection for two weeks, until Monday, because Buckey’s lawyer, Danny Davis, was suffering back problems. Davis had asked for a continuance of several months to undergo surgery, but a second expert who examined him at the court’s request said that rest, physical therapy and a mild pain-killer probably would be sufficient.

The trial is expected to last six months.