• April 18, 2005
• Vol. 63
• No. 15

Another Accuser's Explosive Charges

From Out of the Past, Haunting Testimony of Abuse Shakes the Jackson Defense

Appearing as a witness at Michael Jackson's trial was "much harder than I thought it would be," the 24-year-old son of a former Jackson maid told the court. During two days of emotional testimony, he described three incidents—from ages 7 to 10—in which he claimed Jackson fondled him. But Jackson's attorney Thomas Mesereau hammered away at the accuser's story and his truthfulness. "On many occasions in that [1993 police] interview, you denied being molested, didn't you?" Mesereau asked.

"Yeah, at first...I didn't want to be embarrassed...I was 13," said the accuser, who received a $2.4 million settlement from Jackson in 1994. "So you were lying to the police?" Mesereau asked. "Yeah," he answered. "I was at first."

More From This Article

PATTERN OF ABUSE?

Jackson's three accusers have a lot in common

1980s ACCUSER

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Dark hair, olive skin, brown eyes

FAMILY SITUATION AT TIME OF ALLEGED ABUSE: Lived with his single mother CIRCUMSTANCES OF ALLEGED MOLESTATION: Twice at an L.A. condo, once at Neverland, while his mother cleaned Jackson's houses

LEGAL OUTCOME: $2.4 million settlement in 1994 WHAT HE IS DOING NOW: Newlywed; sells auto parts.

2003 ACCUSER

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Dark hair, olive skin, brown eyes

FAMILY SITUATION AT TIME OF ALLEGED ABUSE: Lived with his mother, stepfather and sister

CIRCUMSTANCES OF ALLEGED MOLESTATION: At various places LEGAL OUTCOME: A reported $20 million settlement in 1993 WHAT HE IS DOING NOW: Has been traveling internationally under an assumed name, according to his uncle

1993 ACCUSER

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Dark hair, olive skin, brown eyes

FAMILY SITUATION AT TIME OF ALLEGED ABUSE: Lived with his mother, stepfather and sister

CIRCUMSTANCES OF ALLEGED MOLESTATION: At various places

LEGAL OUTCOME: A reported $20 million settlement in 1993

WHAT HE IS DOING NOW: Has been traveling internationally under an assumed name, according to his uncle

Court Observers Say Testimony from the Son of Michael Jackson's Former Maid About Alleged Molestation Was a Blockbuster for the Prosecution. "he Came Across as the Most Powerful Witness I've Seen," Says Legal Analyst Jim Hammer. Some Excerpts:

The first time: "I was sitting on his lap. He started tickling me...It eventually moved down to my little private region."

The second incident: "Again with the tickling. This time it was longer but I wasn't laughing as much."

The bribes: "Every tickle thing there was money—always money given after. Kind of a 'Don't tell your mom."

DAD: MAC WASN'T ABUSED

Macaulay Culkin was one of Michael Jackson's most famous young playmates—and prosecutors are expected to allege that Jackson behaved inappropriately with him. But Culkin's father, Kit, told the New York Daily News that while Jackson was certainly childish—he once caught the singer sucking on a baby bottle—"I never saw or heard anything...to suggest that he was a pedophile."