The Real Shame of Child Molestation Cases : Allegations: Charges like those against Michael Jackson present significant problems, especially in custody battles. The singer deserves our presumption of innocence. And real victims of abuse deserve our support.

As the former director of the Orangewood Children’s Foundation and as someone who has dealt with victims of abuse and neglect, their families and those who prey on children for the past 33 years, the Michael Jackson case, and the sensationalism that surrounds it, raises lots of “red flags.”

Allegations of sexual abuse, especially when made in a bitter divorce or child custody battle, present significant problems for police, prosecutors and child-protection authorities. While there are many legitimate cases involving child sexual abuse, others involve bogus claims to use the child as a weapon against the parent during a divorce or to prevent visitation.

I remember one little girl who had been significantly traumatized by a mother who took her from doctor to doctor trying to prove that she had been molested by her ex-husband. Letters to the press, to elected officials, to the grand jury, countless court appearances, monitored visits, threats to abscond with the child and so forth resulted in a trial where there was a determination that molestation did not take place. Unconvinced, the mother continued on with her crusade to the point where the court determined that she was emotionally abusing her child.

In 1992, the Orange County Child Abuse Registry received 9,191 suspected cases of child sexual abuse. It is estimated that as many as one-third of these cases arise out of child custody disputes. When the registry receives these types of allegations, it proceeds cautiously, knowing full well that even if the allegation were untrue, the person’s reputation could be irreparably damaged and the life of the child and his or her family could be significantly disrupted.

So, the whole area represents a minefield. The younger the victim, the greater the problem in achieving credibility in terms of the allegations. Without corroboration or multiple victims, the truth may never be known. More than 60% of victims of child sexual abuse in Orange County are under 10 years of age.

Often, court testimony from young victims is extremely inconsistent and unreliable. In some California counties, when the victim is under 6 years of age, the case is simply not prosecuted. And, of course, who could forget the 1983 McMartin Pre-School case where after the most expensive and lengthy trial in Los Angeles County history, there was not one guilty verdict.

Michael Jackson is particularly vulnerable. Any public figure or individual who works around children or associates with them is not immune from such an accusation, which from time to time is unfounded.

Personally, and at the risk of alienating my own children, I think Michael Jackson is an oddball, albeit a most talented oddball. There’s a childlike quality to him. It is not surprising to me, therefore, that Michael Jackson would feel comfortable surrounded by children. Perhaps he has good altruistic reasons for paying so much attention to children and he most certainly might not be a pedophile, but frankly I think that he is probably pretty lonely and, to some extent, lives in his own fantasy world.

In this context, then, he would find children very accepting and trusting, and unlike adults, they probably wouldn’t take advantage of him. They would provide him with a lot of emotional gratification. Whether or not events also included sexual gratification remains to be seen. At this point, I hope people won’t rush to judgment.

The reality for Michael Jackson is that a denial never catches up with an accusation. There will always be a cloud of doubt no matter what the outcome might be. However, the lessons that have been learned over the years show that children can be molested by just about anyone. Most perpetrators are known to the family of the victim. They are not strangers in trench coats. They go to elaborate lengths to gain the trust of the parents and the child.

So while the media attention is focused on Michael Jackson, we shouldn’t forget that in a less public way, and on a daily basis across this country, thousands of children are being robbed of their innocence. This is the ultimate tragedy.