Reply #67: Even without sexual misconduct... [View All]

[Boomer]

...Jackson's behavior has been emotionally abusive.

Over the years, he's established the same pattern: showering gifts and attention of incredible magnitude on some 11-12 year old boy, an all-expenses-paid trip into a fantasy land of entertainment. Then, when the boy enters puberty, Michael drops him like a hot potato and goes off in search of a new Peter Pan playmate.

This is exploitation. Whether or not Jackson actually engages in physical contact that is sexual in nature, he nonetheless seduces the child on an emotional level. It's hard enough for an adult to handle rejection, but kids shouldn't have to be subjected to that kind of abandonment. It's damaging -- it destroys trust and self-confidence because the only thing the boys did "wrong" was to grow up.

If, in addition to this emotional abuse, Jackson also preyed on them sexually, then the damage is all the greater. But no way, no how can you say that his trysts with pretty little boys of only a certain age are harmless.

Boomer