UsA former Neverland maid who claims she saw Michael Jackson inappropriately touch four boys was accused yesterday of being after the pop star's money.
Adrian McManus has told Santa Maria court, California, that she once saw Jackson kissing Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin's cheek, his hand resting on the child's bottom.
She also said she had seen him kiss 1993 accuser Jordy Chandler on the cheek and mouth and put his hand on his genital area.
Under cross-examination, Jackson's lawyer, Tom Mesereau, sought to discredit her evidence by portraying her as greedy and vengeful after losing a lawsuit against the singer in the 1990s.
"I didn't want money. I wanted justice for what had happened to me. A simple sorry would have been enough," she told the court.
"But your idea of justice was millions of dollars," Mr Mesereau shot back.
Ms McManus was part of a group of five Neverland employees who sued Jackson for nearly $16 million in the mid-1990s. They lost, and Jackson was awarded almost $1.5 million in costs.
Ms McManus was also ordered to pay the singer $35,000 after being accused of stealing a number of items from Neverland.
Earlier this week the court heard some of the most damaging testimony against the star. A former security guard at Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch claimed that he saw him perform oral sex on a young boy.
Ralph Chacon told the court that he saw Jackson and Jordy Chandler take a shower together before Jackson engaged in a sexual act. Mr Chacon said he saw Jackson and Chandler naked in the bathroom in late 1992 or early 1993.
"I was thinking, 'What's going on in there? Grown man in the shower with a boy'. It wasn't right," he told the jury.
"Mr Jackson was caressing the boy, the boy's hair. He moved down and started kissing him," he said. Several weeks later, he claimed, he saw Jackson kiss Chandler "passionately" but briefly on the lips and touch his groin area as they stood looking at a display of Peter Pan dolls.
Chandler received an alleged $20 million in an out-of-court settlement from Jackson in 1993, and criminal prosecutions were subsequently abandoned when the boy refused to testify.
Under cross-examination, Mr Chacon acknowledged he was ordered to pay $25,000 for stealing Jackson's property, which he claimed was only chocolate bars. He admitted he had been forced to file for bankruptcy when his unfair dismissal case was ruled fraudulent and malicious.
Mr Mesereau accused him of trying to extort $16 million from the singer. He asked: "Do you have any motive to get even with Mr Jackson?" Mr Chacon replied: "No, sir."
Ms McManus told the court she had seen four alleged victims at the ranch and that they all slept in Jackson's bed. She claimed she once saw Jackson kiss Chandler on the cheek and mouth and put his hand on his genital area.
Ms McManus admitted she lied in Chandler's 1993 deposition case when she denied seeing inappropriate behaviour, claiming Jackson threatened to report her to her boss if she ever did anything he didn't like. She said after the hearing Jackson called her because he wanted to read the transcript. When he handed it back, she said it was with a thank- you note and three $100 notes.
Jackson has never faced criminal charges in connection with previous alleged molestation, but Judge Rodney Melville allowed the evidence to be admitted so prosecutors could show what they claimed was a pattern of child abuse.
Jackson denies the 10 counts against him in the current case, including molesting Gavin Arvizo (13), plying him with alcohol and conspiring to hold him and his family captive.