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Home / Entertainment

Neverland doco bombshell: Questions raised over key allegation from Michael Jackson accuser

NZ Herald
3 Apr, 2019 03:59 AM3 mins to read

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Documentary Leaving Neverland, about Michael Jackson's alleged abuse of two boys, Wade Robson and James Safechuck continues to court controversy.

Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed has stunningly admitted the dates of alleged sexual abuse given by one of Michael Jackson's accusers is wrong.

The film-maker was forced into a dramatic U-turn after Jacko biographer Mike Smallcombe revealed one of the locations where an alleged abuse took place never existed until 1994.

Abuse accuser James Safechuck claims he was abused from 1988 until 1992, including being molested in a room at the train station in Neverland.

However, it is now revealed the train station wasn't built until 1994, The Sun reported.

Yesterday, Smallcombe tweeted out Santa Barbara County construction permits showing approval for the building of the structure happened in September 1993.

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Michael Jackson and James Safechuck on a holiday to Hawaii together. Photo / Supplied
Michael Jackson and James Safechuck on a holiday to Hawaii together. Photo / Supplied

Reed has since responded to the revelations, taking to Twitter writing: "Yeah there seems to be no doubt about the station date. The date they have wrong is the end of the abuse."

However, Reed backed the alleged victims in his doco going on to say the only issue was the recollection of the dates, revealing Safechuck was present both before and after the station was built.

"No U-turn. No clash of dates. James was present at Neverland before and after the train station was built. In fact he took photos of the completed station which we included in the doco. And his sexual contact with Michael lasted into his teens. That's all in the film.

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"Safechuck was at Neverland after the train station was completed. He even took photos of the station, we put two of these in the film. And he's clear in the documentary that the sexual contact with Jackson continued into his teens ..."

Howeverm Safechuck has repeatedly claimed in court the alleged abuse stopped in 1992.

Jackson accusers Safechuck, right, and Wade Robson, left, with director Dan Reed. Photo / AP
Jackson accusers Safechuck, right, and Wade Robson, left, with director Dan Reed. Photo / AP

Smallcombe bit back at Reed on social media, accusing the film-maker of attempting to change Safechuck's timeline.

He posted: "So @danreed1000 is now saying because the story has been debunked, suddenly the end of Safechuck's abuse was when he was 16/17 rather than 14.

Discover more

Entertainment

Michael Jackson's nephew planning counter doco to 'get truth out there'

03 Apr 09:59 PM
Entertainment

Michael Jackson 'slept with other people's sons'

04 Apr 01:24 AM

"It's a three-year discrepancy. Just hold your hands up, don't change the story.

"This is what happens when you don't investigate properly."

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