Memo: Jackson cleared months ago of molesting current accuser

Memo: Jackson cleared months ago of molesting current accuser Wednesday, December 10, 2003 By Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) – Child welfare investigators earlier this year found there was no basis for allegations that Michael Jackson had abused the boy now accusing him of molestation, according to a confidential memo. The memo from an administrator with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services was based on an investigation last February and was leaked to the Web site thesmokinggun.com, which posted it Tuesday. A source familiar with the document confirmed its authenticity to The Associated Press. The memo was dated Nov. 26, 2003 – a week after the Santa Barbara County district attorney announced child molestation allegations against Jackson. Both the boy and his brother told investigators Jackson had not sexually abused them, according to the memo. Their older sister said she had never witnessed anything sexually inappropriate between her brothers and the entertainer. The memo was sent from a regional administrator to bureau chief Charles Sophy and detailed a probe completed before Sophy joined the agency. Jackson’s defense is certain to seize on the memo. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon did not immediately return a call for comment Tuesday. The memo, which refers to Jackson as “the entertainer,” said the department began a 13-day inquiry after a Los Angeles school district official called its hot line Feb. 14 out of concern for the boy and his brother. The investigation was conducted with the Los Angeles police. The school official suspected neglect by the boy’s mother and sexual abuse by Jackson, according to the memo. But the department and the police concluded the allegations were “unfounded,” the document said. Louise Grasmehr, a spokeswoman for the child welfare department, said the leak would probably be investigated because the memo was supposed to be confidential under state laws designed to protect children. Police spokeswoman Officer Sandra Escalante had no comment. The school official called the hot line after the child, a cancer patient who had visited Jackson at his Neverland Ranch, appeared in a TV documentary in which the boy told an interviewer he had been a guest for sleepovers at Neverland. In the documentary, Jackson defended his habit of letting children sleep in his bed as “sweet” and non-sexual. The boy’s mother told investigators in February that “she believed the media had taken everything out of context,” the memo said. The mother said that the children were never left alone with Jackson and that her son slept in the same room with Jackson but never shared his bed. She said Jackson would sleep on the floor. Separately, the mother contacted an attorney around the time the documentary aired, saying she thought her son had been abused. Jackson was booked Nov. 20 on suspicion of child molestation. He has denied the allegations and was released on $3 million bail. Authorities said they expect to file formal charges next week. Source: http://www.seacoastonline.com/2003news/12102003/world/64816.htm