Santa Maria - Michael Jackson wants to tell the world that he is innocent of child molestation but may not testify at his trial on the advice of defence lawyers, a spokesperson for the pop icon said outside court on Monday.
"Michael wants the world to know that he did not molest any children," spokesperson Raymone Bain said. "He would not be opposed to testifying if the defence attorneys wanted him to and he would not testify if they didn't want him to."
Earlier, Bain said: "At the end of the day he will listen to what (lead defence attorney) Tom Mesereau suggests. If Tom Mesereau asks him to testify, he will."
Bain also hinted that Jackson would end his practise of sharing a bed with young boys and said the 46-year-old entertainer would "absolutely not" sell his share in a Beatles song catalogue to shore up what prosecutors say are his shaky finances.
Asked if Jackson would continue to share his bed with children, Bain referred to an earlier statement by the singer in which "he indicated that he had learned a lot (from the case). He said he's never going to put himself in this position again."
Further pressed on why Jackson considered it appropriate to spend the night in a bed with young boys, Bain said: "He doesn't look at things as most people do. At the end of the day he looks at the world with rose-coloured glasses."
The remarks sounded a theme of defence lawyers, who have suggested throughout the trial that Jackson's motives are pure and that his sleeping arrangements with boys were an extension of his innocent love for the children of the world.
Jackson wants to 'make people happy'
Jackson, she said, is anxious to get back to his former life of "making people happy and sharing his music" and said that the defence case would answer many lingering questions before wrapping up in 8 to 10 weeks.
The self-proclaimed King of Pop is charged with molesting a 13-year-old boy at Neverland, giving the recovering cancer patient alcohol in order to abuse him and conspiring to commit false imprisonment, extortion and child abduction. He faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted.
Earlier on Monday, two Neverland employees testified that the accuser and his younger brother were unruly and "destructive" while visiting the ranch in early 2003, the time at which Jackson is accused of molesting the boy.
Neverland safety coordinator Violet Silva said that the boys - Jackson's accuser and his brother, who were 13 and 12 at the time - drove the pop star's Lincoln Navigator across the grounds and had to be chased by members of the security staff.
She said the boys also littered, crashed golf carts and wore the same clothes for several days. Ranch manager Joe Marcus, who has worked for Jackson for 18 years, echoed that testimony.
"They didn't respect property, if you will," he said. "I know they defaced a few areas on the property. Wrote graffiti, if you will."
Both witnesses also said that, contrary to testimony by the boys' mother, they were never held against their will at Neverland and never complained of wanting to leave.
Silva said she never saw the boys' mother reprimand her children, and added that the mother's demeanour was "either excited or not excited ... she was either very happy or she wasn't speaking."
She said a notice directing security guards to keep the boys from leaving Neverland was not sinister but simply intended to keep them safe and prevent them from leaving without supervision, because they were children.
But asked by District Attorney Tom Sneddon if she would allow her two daughters to spend time at Neverland, she said no, adding: "Perhaps some of the activity was beyond my comfort level." She did not elaborate.