By Adegboyega Adeleye
James Safechuck, one of the two men who have accused late pop star Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them as children, is scheduled to be questioned under oath on September 14 as his long-running civil lawsuit against Jackson’s companies moves forward.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Safechuck will give a deposition on Monday, September 14, while his mother, Stephanie Safechuck, is scheduled to be questioned on October 15 and 20.
Stephanie is expected to be a significant witness in the case because of her family’s relationship with Jackson when her son was a child. She featured in the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, where she recalled how Jackson became close to the family after meeting James during a Pepsi commercial shoot when he was about nine.
Safechuck and fellow accuser Wade Robson have alleged that Jackson sexually abused them as minors. They are suing Jackson’s companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, claiming the businesses failed to protect them. Jackson’s companies have denied the allegations.
Safechuck’s lawsuit, initially filed in 2014, was dismissed by a lower court but was revived after a California appeals court ruled in 2023 that the case could proceed. Robson’s case was similarly revived. The two cases were subsequently consolidated.
In June, a California judge set February 14, 2028, for the trial after further delays in the long-running litigation. The case had previously been scheduled for an earlier trial date.
Safechuck and Robson became widely known for their allegations against Jackson after appearing in Leaving Neverland, the 2019 documentary that detailed their accounts of alleged abuse during their childhoods.
Jackson, who died in 2009, was acquitted in his 2005 criminal trial on charges of child molestation.
The allegations made by Safechuck and Robson remain disputed and have not been established as facts in a criminal conviction.
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