Jackson sharing bed ‘the way he was raised’

MICHAEL JACKSON sleeps with children in his room because he grew up in a close family where they commonly shared beds, his lawyer said.

But the pop star was not motivated by sex when he invited youngsters to his bedroom at the Neverland Ranch in California, said attorney Mark Geragos. He told Fox News: "His mind doesn't think that way."

Mr Geragos said: "He was raised in a small house in Gary, Indiana. The boys all shared beds. What he's saying is that this is the way he was raised. He's very honest about it.

"I don't think that Michael's ... mind works the way that people have tried to imply that there's something about sex here. There's nothing about sex in any of this," Mr Geragos said.

Jackson, 45, has said in interviews that he invited children to share his bedroom as a loving gesture. In a TV interview after Christmas he said: "If you're gonna be a paedophile, if you're gonna be Jack the Ripper, if you're gonna be a murderer, it's not a good idea. That, I'm not."

"What's wrong with sharing your bed? I didn't say I slept in the bed.

"Even if I did sleep in the bed, it's OK. I am not going to do anything sexual to a child. It's not where my heart is."

Jackson is charged with seven counts of abusing a teenage cancer sufferer at the Neverland Ranch near Santa Barbara last year. He faces two further charges of administering an intoxicating substance, reportedly wine. He has called the allegations a "big lie".

Police said Jackson may face further charges if his claims that he was manhandled by police during his arrest prove to be false.

Santa Barbara Sheriff's department denied claims that Jackson's shoulder was dislocated, and that he suffered bruising to his arms from handcuffs.

Sheriff Jim Anderson said: "He was in no way manhandled or abused. His treatment by this department can only be described as professional."

Jackson is due to appear in court in California on January 16.