New documents released on Tuesday shed more light onthe 2003 criminal investigation into Michael Jackson's alleged sex crimes against children. First released by Radar Online, the documents—which seem to be partially comprised of police reports—come from the raid of Jackson's Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, Calif. in 2003.
A spokesperson for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office confirmed to Complex that at least some of the documents are copies of official reports and "evidentiary photographs" from the office. However, she added that it was "interspersed with content that appears to be obtained off the internet or through unknown sources." So, it's unclear exactly which of the documents are official police reports and which are from unverified sources.
The report paints a gruesome picture of Jackson's alleged sexual interests. It details his alleged possession of child pornography, as well as photos of animal torture, S&M, and images of children's faces morphed onto the naked bodies of adults. It also includes a signed and inscribed photograph of child actor Macaulay Culkin, now 35, who claimed during Jackson's 2005 child molestation trial that he had repeatedly shared a bed with Jackson, but was never molested. “The documents collected by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department paint a dark and frightening picture of Jackson,” an unidentified investigator reportedly involved in the case told Radar Online.
One of the police reports describes the possible intent behind having this kind of pornography. "Based on my training, this type of material can be used as part of a 'grooming' process by which people (those seeking to molest children) are able to lower the inhibitions of their intended victims," it says.
Again, it's important to note that as a whole, the reports can't be verified. However, at least some of the claims in the report come from official police sources used in Jackson's trial, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office.
Jackson was charged with seven counts of child molestation in 2003, but was acquitted of all charges after a 2005 trial according to ABC News. Read Radar Online's original report, here, and review the documents, here.
UPDATE 9:40 p.m. EST: Michael Jackson’s daughter, Paris Jackson, responded to the allegations on Twitter. The 18-year-old called the reports "trash" and urged everyone to ignore those who are trying to "slander" her father. Taj Jackson, Tito Jackson's son and Michael Jackson's nephew, shut down the controversy with his own tweets where he was adamant that there's "absolutely no truth" to Jackson's alleged pornography collection.
Unfortunately negativity will always sell. I urge you all to ignore the trash & the parasites who make a career trying to slander my father.
The most pure people are always torn down.. It will continue to be proven that my beloved dad has always been and forever will be innocent.
Not only is there absolutely no truth to this story whatsoever, but I'm truly sick of this crap. #getalife and stop living off ours.
What happened to journalistic integrity and the truth. Is it all about making money and selling lies now.
Fake news travels fast. The world picked up this trashy story. There's such a race to be first, only a few checked to see if it's even true.
