A DEVASTATING court file detailing Michael Jackson's alleged sexual abuse of a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland ranch has been leaked, adding to calls for a police investigation into the singer.
The release of the written statement of Jody Chandler, to whom Jackson paid (pounds) 8 million in an out-of-court settlement in 1993, comes as the singer battles to clear his name over allegations of paedophilia in the wake of his television interview with British journalist Martin Bashir. In the programme, Jackson admitted he had allowed children to sleep in his bed - but denied any sexual misconduct.
The leaking of the court document has undermined the public relations battle that Jackson is now engaged in.
The singer has released his own video which shows Martin Bashir saying: "Your relationship with your kids is fantastic. It almost makes me weep your interaction is so natural, so loving and so caring."
The 1993 document, prepared by Californian lawyers acting for Chandler, has not been seen before due to confidentiality clauses. In his statement, Chandler says he first met Jackson at a restaurant when he was five. He says he met him a second time, when he was 12, at his stepfather's car rental business, Rent-a-Wreck, when he came to hire a car following a breakdown.
"After I met Michael Jackson at Rent-a-Wreck he began calling me on the telephone," the statement goes on. "From about May 1992 until February 1993 (when I first spent the weekend with Michael Jackson at Neverland), I received many telephone calls from various places throughout the world.
"On occasion, these telephone conversations lasted as long as three hours. Michael Jackson and I talked about video games, the Neverland Ranch, water fights and famous people that he knew."
In February 1993, Chandler, his mother and his half-sister Lily were invited to Neverland. "We went on jet skis played video games and went on golf cart rides. One evening he took Lily and me to Toys R Us and we were allowed to get anything we wanted. Although the store was closed, it was opened just for our visit."
In March 1993, Chandler, his mother and Lily were flown on a private jet to Las Vegas as Jackson's guests at the Mirage Hotel. "One night, Michael Jackson and I watched the Exorcist in his bedroom. When the movie was over, I was scared. Michael Jackson suggested that I spend the night with him, which I did." That evening there was no sexual contact.
"From that time, whenever Michael Jackson and I were together we slept in the same bed," Chandler adds. He, his mother and Lily began making frequent trips to Neverland, where Chandler "would always sleep in bed with Michael Jackson". They also slept together at Chandler's own house and at various hotels.
"We were together until our relationship ended in July 1993. During our relationship, Michael Jackson had sexual contact with me on many occasions," the statement says. "The first step was simply Michael Jackson hugging me. The next step was for him to give me a brief kiss on the cheek. He then started kissing me on the lips he would kiss me while we were in bed together. The next step was when Michael Jackson put his tongue in my mouth.
"I told him I did not like that. Michael Jackson started crying. He said there was nothing wrong with it. He said that just because most people believe something is wrong, doesn't make it so.
"Michael Jackson told me that another of his young friends would kiss him with an open mouth and would let Michael Jackson put his tongue in his mouth. Michael Jackson said that I did not love him as much as this other friend. The next step was when Michael Jackson rubbed up against me in bed."
The document then recounts at length the alleged sexual abuse of the boy by Jackson. Chandler says that in May 1993, when he and his family went to Monaco with the singer, he and Jackson spent the day in their room.
"That's when the whole thing really got out of hand," the statement says. "We took a bath together. This was the first time that we had seen each other naked."
Chandler then claims that whenever he told the star he didn't like what was happening, Jackson would start to cry. He adds: "Michael Jackson told me that I should not tell anyone what had happened. He said this was a secret."
After Chandler wrote the statement, his lawyers lodged a case against Jackson in the Superior Court of California for sexual battery, battery, seduction, wilful misconduct, intentional inflicting of emotional distress, fraud and negligence.
Jackson has now issued a public statement saying he "has respected the obligation of confidentiality imposed on all the parties yet someone has chosen to violate that". His spokesman added: "Whoever is now leaking this material is showing as much disregard for [the boy] as they are determination to attack Michael."
The authorities in Santa Barbara County, where Jackson lives, are now under increasing pressure to reopen their files on him and interview the four minors he has most frequent contact with - his own three children and a 12-year-old cancer sufferer identified in the Bashir documentary as Gavin. Jackson has consistently refused to comment on the Chandler allegations, citing the terms of the court settlement.
WHY would you pay millions of dollars in out of court settlements if you were innocent....?????