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Memo: No Basis for Jackson Allegations
45 minutes ago

By TIM MOLLOY, Associated Press Writer

LOS ANGELES - Child welfare investigators earlier this year found there was no basis for allegations that Michael Jackson (news) 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 medical director Charles Sophy and detailed a probe completed before Sophy joined the agency.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon said in a statement that his office has been aware of the investigation and that it did not affect his decision to pursue charges.

The report and the "totality of the investigation" were provided to the judge when the search and arrest warrants were issued for Jackson, Sneddon said.

"Given what we know we do not consider the DCFS statement a significant factor," he said.

Jackson's defense is certain to seize on the memo.

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.

Sgt. Catherine Plows, an LAPD (news - web sites) spokeswoman, said the department had little involvement with the investigation. She said an officer went with a caseworker in February to check on the welfare of a child who had been featured in a Jackson documentary.

The child and his family could not be located at the address, and there was no record of additional police involvement, Plows said.

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.

from E! Online
According to the illicitly obtained document, the investigation was sparked by a call to the agency's child-abuse hotline, received a week after Martin Bashir's controversial documentary that detailed Jackson's bizarre habit of sleeping with children.

On February 14, a school official from the Los Angeles Unified School District lodged a complaint out of concern for the boy and his younger brother of "general neglect by mother and sexual abuse by 'an entertainer.' "

Jackson is never named specifically in the confidential document, he's only referred to as "the entertainer."

But in interviews with social workers that ran from February 14-27, the alleged victim "denied any form of sexual abuse" and said that he never "slept in the same bed as the entertainer," which doesn't jibe with claims he later made to Santa Barbara authorities.

In fact, the boy, now 14, and his 12-year-old brother--who also denied sexual abuse--expressed "a fondness for the entertainer and stated they enjoyed visiting his home, where they would often ride in the park, play video games and watch movies."

Their sister, now 17, told investigators that she accompanied her brothers on "sleepovers at the entertainers home," but had "never seen anything sexually inappropriate between her brothers and the entertainer."

Meanwhile, the children's mother told social workers that the pop superstar was "like a father to the children and a part of her family." While acknowledging that her son "has slept in the same room as the entertainer," the mom claimed "they did not share a bed. The entertainer would sleep on the floor," according to the memo.

The memo said the joint probe by DCFS and the Los Angeles Police Department "concluded the allegations of neglect and sexual abuse to be unfounded both by the LAPD (news - web sites)-Wilshire Division and the department."

Although the boy's mother discounted any improper behavior by Jackson when asked by the Los Angeles officials in February, she reportedly changed her mind in June, after learning that Jackson supposedly gave her son wine during a sleepover.

She then contacted an attorney and told him she believed her son had been abused. The attorney referred the boy to a psychologist, who ultimately tipped off the Santa Barbara authorities when, during a therapy session, the child alleged he had been molested by the entertainer.