Ray Buckey - An exclusive interview

[Ray Buckey, falsely accused of sexual abuse:] I had patience working with the kids [...] I thought if I disciplined them, they wouldn't like me. But I began to see that discipline and love can be the same thing. I learned it to a degree, but I was never as strict as the other teachers. I would net let a child hurt himself or another child or any of the pets. And I didn't bench them if they ran, although I was supposed to do. I thought the best thing for them was to learn through experience, that if they fell while they ran they'd learn not to do it again. I didn't want to stop them from running, because then maybe they'd grow up to be fat kids who didn't like exercise. But those were the rules. I realize they had to have some rules; that's how they grow up to find security. [...]

Who's to blame? I point the finger at the people who propelled the case - the carpetbaggers - the politicians, the overzealous police officers, the D.A.s and their questionable ethics. Probably the people I hate most are the ones I saw last, which would be the prosecutors, because I had to deal with them for five years and watch them lie and cheat and try to destroy my life. I had to watch them get away with it. Most people are without conscience. I came to see that. I'm sue angry at {prosecutor Lael} Rubin. [...]

She wasn't looking for the truth. The truth never had a chance in this case. {District Attorney} Ira Reiner is going to keep this case going so he can stand up on his soapbox and say, "I'm a tough prosecutor. Look at me; I went after these people." He's not looking for a scapegoat. He's looking for a sacrificial lamb. [...]

Churches, airplane rides, drinking blood, black robes, kids molested on the Angels' stadium field? The more things they could throw into the pot, was the thinking. There are stories you'd almost laugh at, if it weren't so scary that people like [Jane] Hoag [Manhattan Beach detective] were writing this stuff down and taking it as fact.

source: Article 'Ray Buckey - An Exclusive Interview' by Mary A. Fischer; Los Angeles; 1990