Clare McKeon's column: JACKO FACING 'NAIL AND JAIL'

0 Comments | Sunday Mirror, Nov 23, 2003 | by Clare McKeon

I'M IN two minds about Michael Jackson's arrest. He may be weird and mad, but child molester? Could that possibility be true?

I don't know.

You never want to believe that someone could harm children, no matter who they are. In this particular instance, the fact that Jackson claims to have a special relationship with children makes it even more bizarre.

If you were a child molester would you ever admit that you had sleepovers with children? You wouldn't.

As Jackson flew into Santa Barbara on Thursday, District Attorney Tom Snedden was talking tough. He has pledged to "nail and jail" the superstar.

Snedden has been after Jackson for 10 years.

In 1993 Jordy Chandler made accusations but instead of going to court he took the money, which begs the question; was he a real victim or gold digger?

However, on going through his declaration it makes for chilling reading, because it rings true.

This time out it's Gavin Arvizos's turn to accuse Jackson, the difference here is that he must give evidence in court.

He doesn't have the option to just do the money route, he's got to go to court first.

This is as a result of changes in the law since the Chandler case.

Tom Sneddon is licking his lips.

The world media has gone into overdrive.

So what do you believe? Jackson is a misguided oddball or an innocent being hunted down? Or is he mad, bad and evil?

He is certainly weird, but that doesn't make him a child molester.

Jackson has led an abnormal life. Just last week I commented on the fact that his father admitted to beating him with a belt.

Jackson didn't have happy childhood, and for most of his life he has been in the public glare.

The Martin Bashir documentary gave us an insight into Jackson. It was frightening. From the theme park in Neverland to his children with their faces covered with veils to hide their identity; from the baby dangling scene over the balcony to his practice of having children for sleepovers, it was all laid bare.

When it got to the piece about plastic surgery it was really too much, this is where he claimed he had never had any surgery on his face.

That was when reality went out the window for me.

If he is guilty then he has played a major part in setting himself up.

A molester doesn't go out of the way to advertise the fact that they have special sleepovers with children.

Yet this is what he did. "My best friends in the whole world are children and animals. We go to sleep. I put the fireplace on. I give them hot milk. We have cookies. It's very charming and it's very sweet."

Gavin Arvizo, 12, says he was plied with wine and pills.

But Jackson's legal team are in fighting form and they claim that when Jackson tried to end his financial support of the boy and his family the mother turned against him and went to a lawyer.

What's that saying? "When the going gets tough, the tough get a lawyer?"

Jackson is his own worst enemy.

In this day and age a man cannot be alone in bed with a child that is not his own.

This may be unfair but that is the reality, otherwise you leave yourself open to all sorts of attacks, and that includes being called a child molester.