Jackson took these two boys to Neverland where he stole their childhood

in me understands we can never truly know what happened between the once superstar and the procession of boys he befriended. My legal brain tells me any person is innocent until convicted by a court. But my gut feeling is I have never heard allegations against a celebrity, in such a particular set of circumstances, that ring so deafeningly true.

Jackson fits the profile and the boys’ testimonies fit the pattern.

He is a man who was abused by his father, physically and possibly also sexually, and it is understood he never had a sexual relationship with a woman.

He was before courts twice accused of child sex abuse and it was reported police found porn belonging to him, with images depicting children’s faces on adult bodies. What was he doing rule by fear, disguised as concern. Oprah Winfrey got to the heart of it when she interviewed the two men.

The chat show host, who was also sexually abused as a child, said: “This moment transcends Michael Jackson. It is much bigger than one person.

“It allows us to see societal corruption. It is a scourge on humanity.

“If it gets our audience to see how it can happen, some good will come.

“I’ve tried to get the message across to people: that sexual assault was not just abuse, it was also sexual seduction.

“The word ‘abuse’ lacks accuracy – children cannot articulate it. They have been seduced and trapped.”

This is a much larger systemic issue and bravo for Finding Neverland and Oprah for highlighting it.

It means equipping parents with the knowledge to prevent their children being vulnerable targets.

It means hearing how these kids are brainwashed into falsely believing they are in on a special secret.

Michael Jackson took these boys to Neverland – named after an imaginary place where boys never grow up – and stole their childhood.

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