Jackson defense loses bid to ban past allegations Child star

SANTA MARIA, California (UP) -- In a setback for Michael Jackson's defense, prosecutors will be allowed to introduce evidence of past molestation allegations against the singer, relating to five previous alleged victims, the judge ruled Monday.

One of the four named in court Monday is child movie star Macaulay Culkin, who defended Jackson and denied any allegations of molestation during an interview with CNN's "Larry King Live" in May 2004. "Nothing happened," Culkin, now 24, told King. Culkin's publicist, Michelle Bega, said Monday that he has no plans to testify in the case. "[He] is not involved with the proceedings at this time, and we do not expect that to change," she said. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon said only one alleged victim will testify. Testimony in the other four cases will come from nine third-party witnesses, he said. Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville agreed with prosecutors that the evidence is relevant to proving "an alleged pattern of grooming" young boys to abuse them. He called his decision "one of great importance." Sneddon said the witnesses would prove a pattern of "very similar, if not identical" behavior to the charges he is now facing. He said that the pattern was "significant" and that the frequency of alleged misconduct "increases credibility" for Jackson's teenage accuser in the current case. The previous five cases involved children ages 10 to 13, he said. Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. argued against allowing the evidence, insisting it would "easily reduce the burden of proof and the presumption of innocence and render an unfair trial." He said prosecutors were trying to rescue a troubled case with weak witnesses by bringing up past allegations. Mesereau also said that some of the purported victims would testify that nothing improper happened with Jackson. He argued unsuccessfully that if they are not alleging abuse, evidence relating to them should be excluded. Comedian George Lopez is expected to testify Monday, the first celebrity to take the stand in a trial with a star-studded witness list. Lopez befriended Jackson's accuser and his family after the boy was diagnosed with cancer in 2000. He later distanced himself from the family after a falling-out with the boy's father, according to earlier trial testimony. On Sunday, Jackson said his belief in God is helping him through the ordeal, but described the allegations as "very painful." In an interview with the radio program "Keep Hope Alive with the Rev. Jesse Jackson," Jackson said, "I gain strength from God. I believe in Jehovah, God, very much. And I gain strength from the fact that I know that I am innocent. "None of these stories are true. They are totally fabricated. It's very sad, it's very, very painful. I pray a lot. That's how I deal with it, and I'm a strong person. I'm a warrior, and I know what is inside of me. I'm a fighter, but it's very painful at the end of the day. I'm still human, you know. I'm still a human being, so it does hurt very, very, very much." Michael Jackson faces 10 felony counts surrounding allegations of molestation in February and March 2003. Jackson is charged with four counts of committing a lewd act on a child; one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion; one count of attempting to commit a lewd act on a child; and four counts of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.