Michael Jackson's accuser fends for himself on stand

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- Michael Jackson's accuser has seen more tragedy in his 15 years than some people see in their entire lives.

When he was 10 years old, doctors diagnosed him with cancer. The next year, his parents divorced amid allegations that his father abused the entire family. Now the boy is at the center of a trial in which he accuses his one-time "best friend" of molesting him.

Through it all, the boy has found an outlet in performing -- he has studied with comedians, aspired to dance and gushed about Jackson in a series of videotaped appearances, one of which was nationally televised.

Now he commands a new spotlight: From the witness stand last week, the boy displayed a quick, sarcastic sense of humor and a stubborn refusal to let attorneys from either side challenge him.

When defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. disputed his testimony Thursday that Jackson hadn't helped him very much through his cancer, the boy bitterly dismissed several gifts the singer had provided.

Mesereau asked whether Jackson had bought the family a car.

"The same car he takes back in the middle of the time I really needed a car," the boy replied.

Didn't the boy's family stay at Jackson's Neverland ranch for free? Mesereau asked.

"Everyone stays at Neverland for free," the boy said.

The boy also resisted District Attorney Tom Sneddon's efforts to get him to repeat testimony he gave before the grand jury that indicted Jackson. The testimony Sneddon wanted him to repeat: that Jackson, while nude, told him it was "natural." The boy said he recalled Jackson's alleged statement only after Sneddon showed him the grand jury transcript.

Prosecutors allege that Jackson, 46, molested the then-13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003, gave him alcohol and conspired to hold his family captive to get them to rebut a damaging TV documentary in which Jackson said he shared his bed with children.

The boy testified Wednesday that his affection for the singer was real at the time of the "Living With Michael Jackson" documentary, but that Jackson told him what to say. One authentic moment came when he put his head on Jackson's shoulder, the boy testified.

"I was really close to Michael and he was like my best friend," the boy explained.

The boy is the second child of parents who barely scraped by on his father's paycheck from a supermarket warehouse. The father's attorney has denied allegations of abuse from the rest of the family, and the father pleaded no contest to child cruelty and spousal abuse after the boy's mother filed for divorce in 2001.

The boy's initial contact with Jackson came through performing. Prosecutors say he met Jackson through the owner of a comedy club where the boy attended a camp to learn standup; the defense says it may have been through a woman he met at a dance school.

Soon after they met, the boy began appearing in videos for Jackson's private collection. In one video, shot in 2000, the boy said he likes a part of Neverland featuring music videos because "when I grow up I want to be the greatest dancer in the world."

Two years later, Jackson called him to Neverland to appear in "Living With Michael Jackson." That led to even more recorded appearances.

On the day the documentary aired, Feb. 6, 2003, the boy and his family were with Jackson at a luxury hotel in Miami. The boy testified that the singer met privately with him several times, once for an "audition" in which each performed a role.

"He was the principal of the school and I was a student who got in trouble because a girl said I stole something," the boy testified Thursday.

Over the next few weeks, the boy and his family told videographers, Jackson's private detective and Los Angeles child welfare workers that Jackson was a father figure who never harmed them. Prosecutors say all the statements were made under duress.

The alleged molestation began, according to the charges, sometime after the last of the interviews, which was held on Feb. 21, 2003.

If the defense is right that the boy's allegations are another performance, he could be traumatized for years, said Tom Lyon, a University of Southern California law professor who specializes in child abuse.

"He's likely to turn out better if he was molested," Lyon said. "If he's lying because his mother's coaching him ... you have a boy who would be undergoing a really serious conflict. I find that a much more terrifying prospect."