Jackson Again Accused Of Sex Abuse

The claim was filed May 9 and is sealed, but two sources told the Daily Beast the plaintiff is James Safechuck, featured in Jackson’s 1987 Pepsi commercial as a 10-year-old child sneaking into Jackson’s dressing room to catch a glimpse of his idol.

The ad hyped Jackson’s “Bad” tour. In 2005 court documents, employees of Jackson’s Neverland Ranch suggested Safechuck as a potential abuse victim but Safechuck denied he was molested. Sources say he now claims Jackson began grooming him for the abuse at age 10. Safechuck is reportedly a married computer programmer with two children, living in Southern California.

“Once you start having children and you see what it’s all about … your perspective on life changes,” a source told the Daily Beast. The source asked for anonymity because it lacked authority to speak on the record. Gradstein & Marzano, representing Safechuck and which also repped Wade Robson, also declined.

Safechuck added his name to a suit filed by Robson in 2013. Robson, who testified in Jackson’s defense at the 2005 trial that found the singer not guilty, changed his tune last year and said Jackson forced him to perform sex acts.

A source said Robson’s filing partially motivated Safechuck to do the same.

“It’s the same type of sex abuse claim as Wade’s,” a source told the Beast. “Only with a different set of facts … and dates. According to the source, Safechuck alleges that he ‘was molested from the age of 10 to about 14 or 15.”

Christopher Anderson, executive director of MaleSurvivor.org, was not surprised by the recent filing.

“It is very common for males who are sexually abused to delay disclosure for a long time,” he said. “In fact, research shows that the average delay in disclosure for men who have been sexually assaulted is 20 years.”

He added that some men who have come to his self-help organization waited 60 years to reveal their abuse.