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Witness: Child star a victim

Ex-employee of Neverland says he saw Jackson grope Macaulay Culkin in the early 1990s

BY TINA SUSMAN | STAFF CORRESPONDENT

April 9, 2005

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - A former Neverland employee said Friday that he saw Michael Jackson shove his hand into the shorts of actor Macaulay Culkin in the early 1990s, but Jackson's attorney portrayed the man as a liar who invented his story in hopes of selling it to the media, the same line of defense used against other witnesses this week who have alleged similar behavior by the pop star. Defense attorney Tom Mesereau's attempt to discredit the latest witness, Phillip LeMarque, led to some testy exchanges, including one in which Mesereau accused LeMarque of writing a false statement in 1993 about the alleged incident, which the witness said had occurred a couple of years earlier.

"You did it because you wanted to sell a story, right?" Mesereau said.

"Absolutely false," LeMarque barked back in a strong French accent. LeMarque also denied accusations that he had hired someone to try to peddle his story to the highest tabloid bidder.

Rather, he said that he and his wife, also a former Neverland worker, were badgered by "a sleazy guy" who wanted to sell the story but that they decided against cashing in.

LeMarque and his wife worked as cooks and caterers at Jackson's ranch for 10 months starting in 1991. The incident involving Culkin occurred at about 3 a.m. when LeMarque said he walked into a game room with a plate of food Jackson had ordered.

Upon entering the room, LeMarque testified, he saw Jackson and the boy, who was about 10 at the time, playing a video game. Because Culkin was too small to reach the controls, Jackson was hoisting him up with his right arm. "His left hand was inside the pants of the kid," said LeMarque. "I was shocked. I almost dropped the French fries."

LeMarque said he backed out quietly, then re-entered loudly to alert Jackson of his presence. Like other witnesses earlier in the week, he was asked why he did not report the incident to police, and like others, he said he did not think anyone would believe him.

"Michael was on top of everything. If we'd have gone to police, they would have said 'where's your proof?'" he said.

Culkin has denied being molested by Jackson, who is on trial for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old boy two years ago and faces 20 years in prison if convicted. Prosecutors attempting to prove a pattern of such behavior have presented witnesses this week who claim to have seen Jackson molesting other boys, including Culkin.

The defense says the charges are false and have been levied by people out for revenge against the performer. Earlier Friday, Mesereau picked apart the testimony of former Neverland maid Adrian Marie McManus, who has also said she saw Jackson groping Culkin and two other boys.

"You went to tabloids, lawyers and the sheriff all to get millions of bucks," he said, accusing McManus of trying to market a false story to get rich.

"You're wrong," she replied.