October 01, 2015
City News Service
A man who alleges he was sexually abused as a child by Michael Jackson cannot file a late creditor claim against the singer’s estate, according to a judge’s ruling obtained this week. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff ruled Sept. 21 that James Safechuck’s petition is barred by the statute of limitations. He heard arguments from attorneys July 20 before taking the case under submission.
Safechuck did not file his petition for a late claim against the Jackson estate until August 2014. Safechuck said a key moment in his realization that he was a molestation victim was when he saw a May 2013 television interview with Wade Robson, who also claimed he was sexually abused by Jackson as a child. Attorneys for Jackson’s estate maintained Safechuck had 60 days thereafter to file the claim. Safechuck’s attorneys countered that he did not fully comprehend what happened until he underwent subsequent counseling and therefore was not bound by the 60-day statute.
Safechuck, 37, alleged he was abused by the King of Pop after the two appeared together in a late-1980s Pepsi commercial, when Safechuck was 10. Safechuck’s attorneys alleged in court papers that Jackson “engaged in a calculated course of conduct to lure both (Safechuck) and his parents into a false sense of security and normalcy that was far from reality.”
They claimed Jackson “was successful in his efforts to the point that (Safechuck) endured repeated acts of sexual abuse of a heinous nature and was brainwashed by the decedent into believing they were acts of love and instigated by James himself rather than the decedent.”
Safechuck alleged the pop star molested him about 100 times over four years until he reached puberty. Last year, the 33-year-old Robson, an Australian former-choreographer, also filed a petition for a late claim against the estate, alleging Jackson sexually abused abused him at a young age. According to Safechuck’s attorneys’ court papers, their client was able to gain “insight” from Robson’s claim and then obtained psychiatric help that allowed him to come forward with details of the “loathsome nature of his childhood sexual relationship with (Jackson), the effects of which he has buried for decades.”
Beckloff also denied Robson’s petition. Both Robson and Safechuck have also filed civil suits against business entities controlled by Jackson before the singer’s June 25, 2009, death at age 50. In a separate ruling on Sept. 21, Beckloff denied a motion by the attorneys representing the Jackson companies to dismiss Robson's civil suit.