OS ANGELES, Dec. 9 — Child welfare officials in Los
Angeles County do not believe that Michael Jackson molested the
12-year-old boy who claims that Mr. Jackson abused him while he was a
sleep-over guest at the Neverland ranch, a leaked internal memorandum
shows.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department booked Mr. Jackson on
charges of child molestation on Nov. 20, but the county district attorney
has yet to file formal charges in the case.
The memorandum, which came from the desk of an administrator at the Los
Angles County Department of Children and Family Services, said that a
joint investigation conducted in mid-February by the agency and the Los
Angeles Police Department turned up no proof of molestation.
"As per the sexual abuse allegations, the mother stated that her
children are never left alone with the entertainer," the memorandum said.
"She further stated that her son has slept in the same room as the
entertainer but they did not share a bed. The entertainer would sleep on
the floor."
Neil Zanville, a spokesman for the Department of Children and Family
Services, confirmed that the memorandum was authentic but said he could
not comment on its contents.
The children's department investigation began after the boy, a cancer
patient, appeared in a television documentary holding hands with Mr.
Jackson and saying he often slept in the entertainer's bed.
Mr. Jackson said in the film, "The most loving thing to do is to share
your bed with someone," and an official from the boy's school who saw it
telephoned an abuse hot line, according to the memorandum.
The boy's mother said that the news media had taken their relationship
out of context and that Mr. Jackson was like a father to her children, the
memorandum said.
Furthermore, it said the boy, his brother and sister all denied that
anything improper happened when they stayed at the ranch.
The sister, then 16, told investigators that "she had accompanied her
brothers on sleepovers at the entertainer's home and had never seen
anything sexually inappropriate between her brothers and the
entertainer."
The memorandum, first made public by The Smoking Gun Web site
(www.thesmokinggun.com) does not say if the authorities tried to interview
Mr. Jackson.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police said the department was trying
to determine its involvement in the case and had no comment.
Prosecutors in Santa Barbara, who are expected to officially charge Mr.
Jackson with multiple counts of child abuse next week, said they were
aware of the Los Angeles investigation and did not expect it to hamper
their case.
"The report and its contents, along with the totality of the
investigation and the timing under which the statements were given, were
provided to the judge at the time the search and arrest warrants were
issued," Tom Sneddon, the Santa Barbara County district attorney, and
Sheriff Jim Anderson said in a joint statement.
"Given what we know, we do not consider the D.C.F.S. statement a
significant factor," they said.
The strength of Mr. Sneddon's case has recently been called into
question; he has twice delayed officially charging Mr. Jackson. He has
also apologized for his flippant behavior at a news conference announcing
the arrest warrant and has set up a tip line to field calls from people
with similar complaints about Mr. Jackson.
Mr. Jackson's representatives were quick to seize upon the memorandum.
"It's in keeping with what we said from the beginning: there is no merit
to allegations," said Stuart Backerman, the official spokesman for Mr.
Jackson. "It's just more vindication."
The children's department investigation
lasted for two weeks in February. Yet the memorandum was dated Nov. 26,
nine months after the investigation ended and six days after Mr. Jackson
was booked. Mr. Zanville, the spokesman for the department, said he could
not comment on the timing of the memorandum.
Mr. Jackson is free on $3 million bail and has called the accusations
"a big lie." His arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 9.
