A judge has dismissed a lawsuit from James Safechuck, who accused Michael Jackson of years of sexual abuse in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.
Safechuck sued the late pop star’s MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures in 2014, alleging the companies were “created to, and did, facilitate Jackson’s sexual abuse of children.”
Judge Mark Young ruled that the companies did not have a duty of care for Safechuck and were not directly responsible for causing him emotional distress.
Safechuck alleged “the thinly-veiled, covert second purpose of these businesses was to operate as a child sexual abuse operation, specifically designed to locate, attract, lure and seduce child sexual abuse victims.”
He said Jackson sexually abused him hundreds of times in the late 1980s and early ‘90s. The singer, who died in 2009, consistently denied accusations against him.
Lawyers for MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures said they were pleased with the judge’s ruling, which Safechuck’s lawyer said he will appeal.