Thursday, March 10, 2005
The boy verified much of the testimony his brother gave earlier in the week.
SANTA MARIA, Calif. (AP) -- Michael Jackson's young accuser took the witness stand Wednesday, saying he once considered the pop star now charged with molesting him "the coolest guy in the world."
The 15-year-old was not asked about the molestation allegations before court ended for the day, but described viewing adult Internet sites with Jackson present and said the singer told him to "call me daddy" during the taping of a documentary.
With an expression that appeared to verge on a sneer, the young cancer survivor said yes when District Attorney Tom Sneddon asked him if he recognized the defendant.
The accuser followed to the stand his 14-year-old brother, who testified he saw Jackson grope his sibling in 2003.
Viewing Web sites
The boy gave the same account his brother had of looking at sexually explicit Web sites on their second night at Neverland after their parents gave them permission to sleep in Jackson's room. He said it was Jackson's idea that they sleep in his room.
The boy said one of Jackson's employees, Frank Tyson, began looking at sites on the Internet as the others watched.
The witness said they looked at women or teenage girls on about seven sites for a period of 15 to 30 minutes, and he repeated an account his brother had given about a remark Jackson allegedly made.
"There was this girl with her shirt up and it was all quiet and stuff and Michael's like, 'Got milk?'" he said.
At another point, Jackson whispered in the ear of his sleeping son, Prince Michael, saying his son was missing out and using slang for female genitalia.
Meeting
Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting the boy, giving him alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to rebut a damaging TV documentary in which Jackson said he allowed children to sleep in his bedroom. Jackson's defense contends the family has a history of filing false claims to get money.
The accuser, who was a cancer patient when he met Jackson, talked about attending a Los Angeles comedy camp hosted by Jamie Masada, the comedy club owner who would eventually bring him and Jackson together.
The boy said Jackson invited him to Neverland the first time they talked. He said Jackson called his hospital room as he was being treated for cancer, and they later talked on the phone about 20 times.
Video
The boy said Jackson later coached him on what to say in the documentary, which was produced by British journalist Martin Bashir and aired in February 2003.
The boy said that when he arrived at Jackson's ranch to participate in the video, Jackson "introduced me to Martin Bashir, and he took me in the library and said, 'Hey, you want to be an actor, don't you?' And I said yes. He said, 'Hey, I'm going to put you in movies and this is your audition.' ... And he said, 'Tell them you call me daddy and daddy Michael.'"
Under questioning by Sneddon, the boy continued: "He told me to say he helped me and that he pretty much cured me of cancer."
When asked if that was true, the boy said, "Not really. He was hardly there during my cancer," and that other celebrities such as comedian George Lopez visited him more often while he was sick.
"Did you admire Mr. Jackson?" Sneddon asked.
"I thought he was the coolest guy in the world. He was my best friend ever," the boy said.
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