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Shining a light on the Neverland of child sex abuse
Santa Cruz Sentinel ^ | March 9, 2019 | Editorial Board

Posted on 03/10/2019 2:47:05 PM PDT by Jyotishi

It is both harrowing and infinitely sad to see "Leaving Neverland" and "Surviving R. Kelly,"  two cable television documentaries about the crime of child sexual abuse, its perpetrators and victims.

R. Kelly currently sits in a Chicago jail cell for failure to pay child support, while at the same time, years of allegations about his sexual abuse of underage girls, have finally caught up with him. The R&B star says he is unfairly accused and that his career has been ruined by the allegations.

"Leaving Neverland" aired last week, profiling two men who say Michael Jackson sexually abused them when they were children.

Jackson died in 2009 and his family has filed a lawsuit against HBO which aired the documentary.

That Kelly and Jackson face these accusations is hardly shocking, considering previous allegations both have faced, but the depravity of the alleged acts described by the victims  -- who come off eminently believable -- is shattering. Much of the same debate has also been heard during the Roman Catholic Church's repeated scandals of child sex abuse and in the #MeToo movement.

One of the questions asked of the two latest Jackson accusers is why they took so long to come forward and why they first denied they had been repeatedly molested by the pop star.

Both Wade Robson, who testified for Jackson in the singer's court trial, and James Safechuck still suffer guilt and shame over what happened. Both men say they will spend the rest of their lives trying to come to terms with what happened, and about the feelings they still harbor.

They were groomed -- or manipulated -- by Jackson when they were little boys and considered him, in their words, like a "god" who turned them against anyone who might want to intrude into their twisted world. Both said they didn't consider it "abuse" until relatively recently.

Safechuck, in particular, seems to remain traumatized at age 40, three decades after he met Jackson during the filming of a soda commercial. Jackson, in addition to allegedly repeatedly assaulting the child, also bought him a "wedding ring" that Safechuck still possesses.

Predators often work to ingratiate themselves with children, first casting themselves as special adult "friends" or protectors and making themselves irreplaceable in the child's life. Once they have achieved this bond, then they begin to introduce sexual contact.

Abusers often create a sense of shared responsibility with their victims for what has taken place and warn them of the importance of secrecy. The fact that they do not abuse all children they come in contact with -- apparently true in Jackson's case -- just serves to give them more cover. Jackson also touted his work in charitable endeavors aimed at deprived or ill children.

Research has shown that many victims of pedophilia don't begin to come to terms with it until they reach middle age, or even later. Most U.S. states that have limited the years in which victims of child abuse can seek criminal action against perpetrators are today considering extensions.

What about parents? Shouldn't they answer for the abuse? "Leaving Neverland" is all too revealing. Robson's mother took her then 7-year-old son and his sister from Australia to Los Angeles to follow Jackson's invitation, leaving another son and her husband behind.

Safechuck's mother considered Jackson as a surrogate son, falling for his tales of having being deprived of a childhood himself. Incredibly, the mega star would regularly come to their suburban home for sleepovers.

The mothers were often nearby during the abuse; in Robson's case, the child and Jackson would occupy a bedroom at the pop star's Neverland retreat above Santa Barbara, while the mother was staying in another part of the mansion.

This is a familiar pattern, say experts, as abusers often start by manipulating parents into trusting them and giving them access to a child.

Abusers usually aren't strangers. More than 90 percent of child sex abuse victims are assaulted by someone they know --  familiarity provides access to children. In about a third of such cases, the perpetrator was a family member.

There are no pat answers to unmasking human depravity or providing failsafe protection for children. But, make no mistake, the veil of secrecy and denial around the crime of child sexual abuse finally is being lifted.


TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abuse; assault; bryansinger; catholic; celebrity; child; children; christian; church; clergy; crime; hbo; hollywood; jackson; kelly; metoo; michael; music; neverland; pedophile; pedophiles; predator; priest; rb; rkelly; robson; safechuck; scandal; sex; sexual

1 posted on 03/10/2019 2:47:05 PM PDT by Jyotishi
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Comment #2 Removed by Moderator

To: Jyotishi

They thought they would get a pass like WJC.


3 posted on 03/10/2019 2:55:03 PM PDT by Spok
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To: Jyotishi

No sympathy from me.
SPJNK.


4 posted on 03/10/2019 2:59:27 PM PDT by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: Jyotishi

I don’t have a TV right now.
Has “Neverland” aired in the USA yet?
I know it has been seen in Europe.

The first recording label of the Jackson 5, Motown, had a 60th Anniversary Show about three weeks ago.
The show only made the most minor mention of Michael Jackson, and that was as a photograph. Nothing was said aloud.
This, after the millions of dollars Jackson earned for that label. For this to happen, must mean people at Motown take ‘Neverland’ seriously, and want as little to do with the performer’s legacy as possible.


5 posted on 03/10/2019 3:00:46 PM PDT by lee martell
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To: humblegunner

Or maybe you didn’t watch Leaving Neverland?


6 posted on 03/10/2019 3:00:47 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: lee martell

Yes. Leaving Neverland.


7 posted on 03/10/2019 3:01:34 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z1z)
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To: TexasGator
Or maybe you didn’t watch Leaving Neverland?

Maybe that would be correct.

Lunatic celebrities boning kids is really not my preferred entertainment.

But hey, if that's your thing then party on.

8 posted on 03/10/2019 3:05:44 PM PDT by humblegunner
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To: humblegunner

It’s worth checking out Rageaholic on YouTube about this. This article didn’t do even a minimum of fact checking.


9 posted on 03/10/2019 3:06:55 PM PDT by sauropod (Yield to sin, and experience chastening and sorrow; yield to God, and experience joy and blessing.)
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To: sauropod

Put your asbestos undies on. The MSM still holds sway over many on here.


10 posted on 03/10/2019 3:13:07 PM PDT by Chipper (You can't kill an Obamazombie by destroying the brain...they didn't have one to begin with.)
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To: Jyotishi
And yet I still Michael Jackson's song's being played on the radio.
11 posted on 03/10/2019 3:19:03 PM PDT by onona (It is often wise to allow a person a graceful path.)
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To: Jyotishi

This is beyond intolerable.

Hollywood needs to be nuked. Let’s tell the Muslims that Hollywood insults Islam, sneers at the Koran, and disrespects Prophet Mohammed.

Failing that, let’s boycott their “products” totally. Make theaters go out of business. Bootleg their movies by unpaid downloads. And find some role models other than a bunch of f***ing crackhead actrons with s*** for brains politically!


12 posted on 03/10/2019 3:23:36 PM PDT by elcid1970 (My gun safe is saying, "Room for one more, honey!")
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To: Jyotishi

bookmark


13 posted on 03/10/2019 4:27:17 PM PDT by GOP Poet
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To: Jyotishi

How could anyone NOT see that from beginning to end this entire Estate was BOY GROOMING..?

It's obvious.

14 posted on 03/10/2019 4:31:52 PM PDT by gaijin
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To: Jyotishi

“Leaving Neverland” is excellent, especially in showing the way Jackson manipulated the kids and their families and gradually seduced them into going along with his evil - making them feel sorry for him, making them feel as though they had a special place in his life, playing the “it’s us” against “them” game, even threatening the kids that his life and theirs would be destroyed if what was going on ever came out - worth watching if for no other reason than self-defense - to pick up some of the cons these perverts use......


15 posted on 03/10/2019 5:32:32 PM PDT by Intolerant in NJ
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To: Intolerant in NJ

MJ defenders are just as brainwashed as any Scientologist.


16 posted on 03/10/2019 5:33:23 PM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: dfwgator

Well to his defenders it makes sense to go to a middle eastern sex tourism spot known as one of the many places Bacha Bazi boys may be obtained after one’s lawyer gets one off.

Who wouldn’t go there to relax?


17 posted on 03/10/2019 5:40:17 PM PDT by MrEdd (Caveat Emptor)
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To: Jyotishi
If my wife took my kid halfway around the world because of a Hollyweird actor told her too, I would call Interpol that she is kidnapping my child.

Mrs Deplorable, of course, wouldn't do that. She hates actors as much as I do...

18 posted on 03/10/2019 8:25:58 PM PDT by Deplorable American1776 (Proud to be a DeplorableAmerican with a Deplorable Family...even the dog is, too. :-))
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To: Deplorable American1776

I read elsewhere, the father of one of the boys objected to his ex-wife allowing MJ near the kid. Mom assured Dad nothing was amiss & he relented.
Later, after the boy told his story, Dad committed suicide.


19 posted on 03/11/2019 5:24:23 PM PDT by mumblypeg (I've seen the future, brother. It is murder. --L. Cohen)
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