3/16/05 The boy accusing Michael Jackson of child molestation testified Tuesday that his fear of being ridiculed by classmates prompted him to lie to a school dean when asked about the alleged incidents.

"All the kids were already making fun of me at school and I didn't want anybody to think it really happened," the boy said.

His statements came during questioning by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, who was trying to address remarks the teen made Monday during cross-examination by the defense.

The boy had acknowledged telling Dean Jeffrey Alpert at John Burroughs Middle School in Los Angeles that nothing inappropriate happened between himself and Jackson.

Sneddon also attempted to show that the boy's disciplinary problems, which he admitted to Monday, were in the past. The now 15-year-old boy testified he is an honors student who no longer poses a problem for his teachers.

The boy said his parents' marital strife may have contributed to his past disciplinary problems.

"I cried every night because I didn't have a dad anymore," the boy testified about his parents' divorce.

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On the stand Monday, the boy admitted being a disciplinary problem and getting into fights before Jackson allegedly molested him. Under questioning from Sneddon, the boy also testified that once a controversial documentary showing the teen holding hands with Jackson aired on Feb. 6, 2003, he faced further harassment.

"All the kids would laugh at me and try to push me around and they'd say, 'That's the kid that got raped by Michael Jackson' and stuff like that," the boy testified.

The boy, who had been on the witness stand since March 9, stepped down Tuesday morning, but not before he answered a question about how he felt about Jackson.

"I don't really like him anymore," the boy said. "I don't really think he was deserving of the respect I was giving him as 'the coolest guy in the world.'"

The prosecution then called Santa Maria Police Officer Terry Flaa, a former Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputy who investigated two complaints made about Jackson's conduct toward children in early 2003.

Flaa testified that his investigation was closed April 16, 2003, after the Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services had interviewed the accuser and his family and found no evidence of abuse.

That interview occurred in February 2003, before prosecutors allege that Jackson molested the boy. At that time, the estranged father of the accuser also told authorities that he was not aware of any abuse.

Santa Barbara County sheriff's Lt. Jeff Klapakis testified that the Jackson investigation was reopened after the accuser and his siblings disclosed the allegations June 13, 2003, to Stanley Katz, a psychologist who worked for civil attorney Larry Feldman.

Feldman in 1993 had sued Jackson on behalf of another boy who alleged molestation by Jackson. That case ended when Jackson paid the boy a settlement of more than $20 million, a move that thwarted an earlier investigation of Jackson by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department.

Next on the stand was sheriff's Sgt. Steve Robel, who testified about interviews he conducted with both the accuser and his brother.

When asked, Robel acknowledged that the boy had in an earlier interview accused Jackson of masturbating him on five occasions.

The prosecution has only charged Jackson with four counts of molestation, but the accuser confirmed in testimony that he knew of just two incidents. The boy's brother testified about two alleged molestations, during which he said his brother slept.

Robel also said that the boy initially alleged that one of the molestations occurred before the interview with social workers. The boy now claims that all incidents happened after this event.

The day ended with Jackson attorney Robert Sanger reading statements Robel made during a July 7, 2003, interview with the accuser and his siblings, while the investigation was ongoing.

"You guys are doing the right thing here," Sanger quoted Robel as saying. "They're the ones who did wrong. We're going to try our best to make this case work."

When questioned about the remarks, Robel said he was doing as he was trained, and trying to support the alleged victims.

"That statement is to reassure them, because they were terrified to come forward," Robel said.

Jackson, 46, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of child molestation and four counts of administering alcohol to help him with the alleged lewd acts. He also has pleaded not guilty to a conspiracy charge involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion, and a count of attempted child molestation.

Because the accuser is the alleged victim of sex crimes, the Record, following its established policy, is not identifying him or members of his family, even though they are being named in court.

Staff writer Quintin Cushner can be reached at 739-2217 or by e-mail at qcushner@pulitzer.net.