The boy who accuses Michael Jackson of molesting him acknowledged in court today (14MAR05) that he told an administrator at his school the pop star "didn't do anything" to him.

The teenager was asked about conversations he had with JEFFREY ALPERT, the dean at Los Angeles' John Burroughs Middle School, where the boy had a history of acting up in class.

Under questioning by Jackson's attorney THOMAS MESEREAU JR, the boy said, "I told Dean Alpert he didn't do anything to me. I told him twice."

Prosecutors allege that in 2003, Jackson plied the boy with alcohol and molested him at his Neverland Ranch in California.

It was not clear in court why the dean asked the boy about Jackson. But Mesereau confronted the teen with records showing that nine teachers had complained about his bad behaviour.

Of one teacher, the boy said, "I felt as if he didn't deserve respect as a teacher. I didn't respect him as a person."

He complained on the witness stand about the teaching methods of virtually every teacher mentioned, adding, "When I would stand up to teachers the other students would congratulate me... I was argumentative at times. I didn't like the way they taught me. I wasn't learning anything."

Mesereau also cross-examined the accuser about similarities between a statement he testified Jackson made about masturbation and an earlier statement the boy attributed to his grandmother.

On Thursday (10MAR05), the boy testified that Jackson told him that if men do not masturbate, they might rape women. Mesereau noted that the boy told sheriff's investigators in an interview that his grandmother had told him the same thing.

The boy denied changing his story, explaining, "She was telling me it was okay to do it, and Michael was saying you have to do it."

14/03/2005 21:18