A man in LA is seeking damages from the estate of Michael Jackson, alleging that the late “King of Pop” sexually abused him as a child during the late 1980s.
James Safechuck, 36, said Jackson abused him on about 100 occasions over a four-year period after the two appeared in a Pepsi commercial when he was 10 years old.
Filings by Safechuck’s attorneys alleged that Jackson, who died in 2009, “brainwashed” the youngster into believing the abuses were “acts of love.”
A hearing has been scheduled in Los Angeles for September 4 before judge Mitchell Beckloff.
Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for the Jackson estate, said Safechuck’s claims should be dismissed.
“Mr Safechuck’s request to file a late claim against the Jackson Estate so he can recover money from Michael’s beneficiary will hopefully be rejected,” Weitzman said.
“This is a person that made his claim five years after Michael died, more than 20 years after the incidents supposedly happened and has given sworn testimony that Michael never did anything inappropriate to him.”