New Document May Back Jackson Defense

Dec. 9, 2003 -- Authorities in Los Angeles cleared Michael Jackson months ago of sexual molestation allegations involving the same boy making claims against the singer in a Santa Barbara criminal case, according to a confidential document.

The internal government memo, obtained by The Smoking Gun Web site (www.thesmokinggun.com), says Los Angeles police and child welfare officials concluded that sexual abuse allegations against Jackson were "unfounded" months before the pop star was booked on molestation charges in Santa Barbara on Nov. 20.

The memo, which followed a confidential investigation by Los Angeles police and child welfare officials, said the minor "denied any form of sexual abuse" and said that he never "slept in the same bed as the entertainer."

The document said the boy had denied the allegations when questioned by a social worker assigned to the Sensitive Case Unit of Los Angeles' Department of Children and Family Services back in February of this year.

This evening, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon and Sheriff Jim Anderson dismissed suggestions that the document had any bearing on the current accusations against Jackson. In a joint statement, Sneddon and Anderson said they were aware of the Los Angeles interviews before they decided to pursue a criminal case against the pop star.

"Our investigators were aware of the contents of the interviews prior to seeking the search warrants and arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson," the statement said. "The report and its contents, along with the totality of the investigation and the circumstances and the timing under which the statements were given, were provided to the judge at the time that the search and arrest warrants were issued. Given what we know, we do not consider the DCFS statement a significant factor."

‘A Big Lie’

Jackson, 45, was arrested in Santa Barbara County on multiple counts of child molestation after the 14-year-old boy alleged the singer sexually abused him during visits to Jackson's Neverland Ranch. The boy was 12 at the time of the alleged abuse. Jackson has labeled the allegations "a big lie."

Bill Bastone, editor of The Smoking Gun, did not reveal to ABCNEWS' Good Morning America how the document was obtained. The investigation was conducted in February, but the document summarizing the findings is dated Nov. 26 — after the Santa Barbara charges were filed.

Sneddon has said publicly that the alleged victim and his family are now fully behind the current charges.

Investigation Stemmed From Documentary

The document, which does not use Jackson's name, referring to him only as "the entertainer," resulted from an investigation that was launched in response to a complaint filed by an official from the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The official filed the complaint after the minor appeared in a documentary with Jackson, according to the document.

In the memo, officials said officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and child welfare investigators interviewed the alleged victim, his then-12-year-old brother, his 16-year-old sister and his mother. According to the memo, each one said the child had a strong friendship with "the entertainer," but insisted there was nothing sexual about it.

The boy's mother was quoted as saying that "her children are never left alone with the entertainer." And, according to the memo, she said that while "her son has slept in the same room as the entertainer … they did not share a bed. The entertainer would sleep on the floor."

The statements included in the memo are consistent with what Jackson said on the British documentary that aired last February on ABC.

Jackson told interviewer Martin Bashir that he had shared his bed with children, but that it was not at all sexual.

"The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone," Jackson said in one of a series of interviews with Bashir. Jackson also told Bashir that he would sleep on the floor if a young houseguest wanted to sleep in his bed.

"I said, 'No, you sleep on the bed, I'll sleep on the floor,'" Jackson said in the documentary.

The memo indicated that the school official suspected the boy was being neglected by his mother and sexually abused by "the entertainer."

According to the memo, the joint probe by DCFS and Los Angeles police took place between Feb. 14 and Feb. 27. "[The] "investigation by the Sensitive Case Unit concluded the allegations of neglect and sexual abuse to be unfounded both by the LAPD-Wilshire Division and the Department," it said.

The entire memo can be read on The Smoking Gun Web site.