BishopAccountability.org

Heslam: Michael Jackson, Catholic sex abuse scandals eerily similar

By Jessica Heslam
BostHerald
March 4, 2019

https://bit.ly/2SI22UM

Michael Jackson and James Safechuck, “Leaving Neverland” Courtesy photo of HBO

When the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal broke, the pressing question was “how did this happen?”

There were so many signs missed. I got a similar feeling watching the latest, disturbing Michael Jackson documentary “Leaving Neverland,” which aired on HBO Sunday and Monday nights.

When the late King of Pop was parading around the world, always with a young boy by his side, it’s shocking to me why no one questioned what was going on. Looking back, and after watching this haunting footage, it’s even more shocking.

Just as the Catholic Church protected pedophile priests, it’s pretty clear that Jackson had a system in place to facilitate his relationships with young boys. His handlers made sure that Jackson had hotel suites to sexually abuse these young boys that were located far away from their families. There were protocols in place that made sure Jackson had a lot of time alone with these young boys at hotels and Neverland, his ranch north of Los Angeles.

The documentary focuses on two men who say Jackson befriended them when they were boys and molested them for years.

Wade Robson, 36, met Jackson when he was 5 years old, after winning a dance contest in Australia. Jackson, he claims, began molesting him two years later and the sexual abuse lasted for seven years.

James Safechuck, 40, met Jackson when he was 8 years old and filming a Pepsi commercial. Jackson began molesting him, he says, two years later.

One of the hardest parts of the documentary is watching the mothers of these boys and how enamored they were by all the attention the mega-star was giving their sons, even allowing their boys to sleep in the same bed as Jackson, a grown man at the top of his career. They were starstruck and in hindsight far too trusting.

Sound familiar? Many survivors of clergy sexual abuse have recalled how happy their parents were that a priest — a star in their eyes — was giving their child so much attention.

Jackson spent a lot of time and energy grooming his victims. The pop star danced with them on stage at concerts and took them on trips. He bought them gifts, giving one his “Thriller” jacket. Jackson would act like a child, all the while planning and carrying out his sadistic abuse systematically.

The pedophile priest who abused Phil Saviano knew a lot of cool card tricks.

“He had the ability to be one of us,” Saviano said.

Like Jackson’s victims, Saviano felt special as a result of all the attention at first, too.

“When it first all started happening, I felt lucky. I felt like there was something unique about me.”

But soon Saviano realized the priest was only interested in being “sexually serviced.”

“I didn’t feel lucky at all,” he said. “I felt very taken advantage of.”

That’s how predators work.

Contact: jessica.heslam@bostonherald.com




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