It appears that Michael Jackson’s, hate filled loonies have a new Messiah in Mike Smallcombe. Smallcombe, a tabloid journalist from Newquay, Cornwall, released a pro–Jackson book titled: “Making Michael” back in 2016, and presumably sees nothing wrong with unrelated grown men enticing unrelated children into their private quarters and bed.
Smallcombe claims to have discovered holes in the recent Leaving Neverland documentary directed by Dan Reed, and its subjects, Wade Robson, James Safechuck and their families.
This, unsurprisingly, has led to Jackson truthers frantically quoting his “findings” through social media, forums, and pretty much anywhere else, you’ll find them.
But what exactly has Smallcombe allegedly uncovered, and is it truthful, or a one-sided misinformation campaign intended to create the usual doubt, confusion as well as hatred towards Jackson’s accusers?
1. The train station
James Safechuck, in his civil complaint states that Jackson abused him from 1988 until 1992, when he was aged between 10 and roughly 14.
James states in the Leaving Neverland documentary that he was sexually abused by Michael Jackson in multiple locations, including the upstairs room of the train station.
Smallcombe, however, claims he’s uncovered evidence that the train station did not exist until at least late 1993, which, unsurprisingly, was covered by tabloid newspapers such as the Mirror and the Sun, and pretty much anywhere else where sensational stories minus the full picture belong.
Smallcombe even claims via his Twitter account, after the story was published on the Mirror “Do you have a story to sell?” page, that he had obtained access to the Santa Barbara construction permits for the Neverland train station. Strange that he would sell or donate a story to the Mirror, before checking all the facts, but hey!
Smallcombe, most likely, enjoying the attention from Jackson truthers, has been super aggressive on Twitter promoting his alleged findings, and even challenged the Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed.
Dan Reed responded firstly by saying: “Yeah there seems to be no doubt about the station date. The date they have wrong is the end of the abuse.“
This, to Smallcombe, was seen as some kind of omission by Dan Reed himself that he got it wrong. Tabloids then started posting the story with the title: “Leaving Neverland director admits James Safechuck made mistake in Michael Jackson claims”, which all quoted “according to Mike Smallcombe”.
Dan Reed, then posted a second tweet stating:
"1. James Safechuck was at Neverland both before and after the construction of the train station there. The two still photos of the station shown in #leavingneverland were in fact taken by James, who is very clear that he was abused by Jackson in multiple places over many years."
A third: "2. #leavingneverland also makes clear that sexual contact between James and #MichaelJackson continued until James Safechuck was in his teenage years. The station at Neverland is just one of the many locations where James remembers sexual activity taking place."
He even responded to the Daily Mail by stating:
"Admitted what?? Safechuck was at Neverland after the train station was completed. He even took photos of the station, we put two of these in the film. And he’s clear in the documentary that the sexual contact with Jackson continued into his teens...".
This is true, and there’s no denying that James was at Neverland before and after that particular train station was built. But, as Mike Smallcombe has pointed out, James said the abuse happened between 88 and 92 in his civil complaint.
Is James Safechuck a liar?
Let’s first explore the idea that James did in fact say he was molested at a location that did not exist until at least a year later after he said the abuse had stopped.
Are Jackson truthers right to call James a liar (amongst many other things), and discredit every other allegation of abuse?
The short answer is no. There is decades of research and millions of sex abuse survivors that will all validate that genuine sex abuse victims do get things wrong, including timeframes and locations.
The BBC has a great article titled: “Why sexual assault survivors forget details.”
This is a direct quote from number 5:
Traumatic experiences scramble your memories: maybe you’ve misremembered what happened "Many people who have been raped or sexually assaulted often claim to have vivid memories of certain images, sounds and smells associated with the attack – even if happened decades earlier. Yet when asked to recall exactly what time of day it was, or who and what was where at any given time – the kinds of details police and prosecutors often focus on to establish the facts of a crime – they may struggle or contradict themselves, undermining their testimony." “There is this tragic discrepancy between what is expected within the criminal justice system and the nature of trauma memories and how people are likely to be reporting them,” says Amy Hardy, a clinical psychologist at Kings College London."
This is what Kenneth V. Lanning Former Supervisory Special Agent Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has to say on the matter of inconsistencies when it involved multiple sexual acts over an extended period:
Allegations involving multiple acts, on multiple occasions, over an extended period of time must be evaluated in their totality and context. Cases involving longterm sexual contact with child victims who engaged in compliant behavior should not be assessed and evaluated by comparisons to cases involving isolated, forced sexual assaults. Indicators suggesting a false allegation in a typical rape case have little application to the evaluation of most acquaintance, child-molestation cases, especially those involving repeated access and prolonged sexual activity. Such child molestation cases are very hard to classify as either a valid or false allegation. Victim claims may include allegations that appear to be false, but that does not mean the case can be labeled in totality as “a false allegation. In my experience, many valid claims of child sexual molestation, especially those by this type of child victim, involve delayed disclosures, inconsistencies, varying accounts, exaggerations, and lies often associated with false allegations. Inconsistencies in allegations are significant but can sometimes be explained by factors other than that the allegation is false. What is consistent and logical in these circumstances must be based on experience and knowledge of cases similar to the case being evaluated. Any indicators of a potential false claim must be applicable to the type of case in question and not based on cases involving one-time, violent sexual assaults. There is a difference between an unsubstantiated/unproven allegation and a false allegation. There may be many reasons to believe the allegations are not accurate and should not sustain a conviction in court beyond a reasonable doubt, but that does not mean the allegations of sexual victimization can be labeled as totally “false.” Labeling an allegation as false should mean nothing of a criminal/sexual nature occurred between the child victim and the alleged adult offender at any time.
Even sex abuse survivor Oprah Winfrey is ask whether her support for Leaving Neverland has wavered, since the train station date findings.
She went on to say:
"You wanna know why I've not wavered?" she said. "Because I've had girls at my school who were sexually assaulted and abused, and I have never won a case. And the reason why I have never won a case is because when you put a girl on the witness stand, and she can't remember was it Thursday or Wednesday, it's automatically discredited." "And so, when you're in the midst of trauma, some terrible things happening to you, you may not remember the exact time. It's why, if I hear like a noise or something at my house, I'll like, look at the time, 'cause they're gonna ask what time was it, 'oh my god what time is it?'". "If you can't remember the day and the time and the dada dada, everybody's like 'Well, okay, I guess it never happened'. I've been through that, so no."
You also have to factor in the sheer size of Neverland. This was a piece of land the size of an average housing estate, full of buildings and outbuildings, a medium-sized funfair, gardens, a lake and a zoo. James was clearly there after that particular train station was built, and may have simply mixed up one location where Jackson sexually abused him. Just watch this 2017 Neverland video, and you’ll be mesmerised by the sheer size of the place: youtube.com
James, also in his civil complaint makes it quite clear that he had a close relationship with Jackson , especially after the 93 allegations by Jordan Chandler.
6. Continuing into the 1990's, when I became a preteen and then a teenager, I still spent a lot of time with the DECEDENT, travelling with him, working with him, being his friend and confidante, and in effect, being his regular companion. He was everything to me and my life. I worked with the DECEDENT and saw and spoke to him all the time. I knew that we had a very special relationship. That never changed even as I got older. The last working experience I had with the DECEDENT was in 1995 when he and/or DOES 2 and 3 employed me as an intern/shadow director for DECEDENT's "Earthsong" video. I was also a wardrobe double for the DECEDENT, and I was actually in the video--my hand appears in the video punching the ground.
1995 and beyond:
7. In the years after 1995, my relationship with the DECEDENT changed and our constant contact began to taper off. In 1997, when I was 19, I enrolled in Moorpark Community College because I thought a community college would be easier for me to try to get good enough grades so I could try get into USC. I was never able to do that, and was never able to get the university education I had always wanted, because of the DECEDENT's overpowering influence over me and my parents.
It’s entirely possible that James was sexually abused at least once beyond 1993, specifically at the train station, but due to the sheer complexity of child sex abuse, and James strong affection for his abuser, mixed up the dates, and thought it happened at a slightly earlier date, a date that he remembers as the most traumatic.
Did a train station exist pre-93?
We don’t know for certain whether a train station with an upstairs room did not exist between James’s timeframe of abuse, despite Jackson truthers desperate attempts to find documentation and photos to say otherwise.
Information from a Spanish Jackson fan website (lacortedelreydelpop.com) reveals, that there was, in fact, two miniature trains that ran at Neverland. The first one was installed by Rob Swinson on October 30, 1990. This MTV video shows the train on tracks in 1993. This smaller train ran through the heart of Neverland, including the funfair and zoo.
A second, larger train built in 1973, was originally used at Carowinds Park in Paramount, North Carolina. In April, 1993, Jackson purchase this train and had it extensively modified to his liking.
This second, larger train was installed on November 20, 1993, six months after Jackson had purchased it. A new track had to be laid and modified, due to friction in the corners. This train ran on a relatively straight piece of track right across the top of Neverland for approximately 1 mile before circling back on itself. Footage from this YouTube video shows that train even went through a artificial tunnel, before returning to the 93/94 main train station.
To my knowledge, this train couldn’t run on the tracks of the smaller train, or vice versa.
So, the truth is that a train did exist from at least autumn 1990, which then got joined by a grander and larger model in late 1993.
Smallcombe posted planning permission that was granted in September, 93, but it’s pretty obvious this station was only built to accommodate the new train that had been installed that year.
The Chippewa Herald Telegram published an article dated Tuesday, December 14, 1993, showing a black-and-white image of the main Neverland train station being built. However, the same image in colour can also be found on CBSNews.com, which only states it was taken in 1993. It’s not known who, how or when the photograph was taken, or whether it was provided by Jackson himself. Since the permit was only issued in early/mid September 93, it seems unrealistic that the train station was that substantial in size, and nearing completion in just 3 months. Hiring contractors and the building materials can take months by themselves.
Smallcombe posted an image from getty images, which states its from from August 25, 1993, showing no train station, only a floral clock. However, ask yourself why a floral clock with two staircases was in that particular position along with the foundations for the train track itself. Why were they built before the September planning permit had been issued?
Getty Images has a “created” date, rather than this was the precise day this photograph was taken. There are no requirements to enter an accurate “created” date on Getty Images. In fact, I found a photograph of a young black Michael Jackson, which has the created date of 22 November, 1990 on the site. Steven D Starr who took the photograph in question also took several other aerial photographs of Neverland all with the same date. This is back in the days before SD cards, so those photographs at the very least, would have been processed, which may have taken days, weeks, maybe even years.
Steven D Starr also took a photograph of the Neverland fairground, where in the background, you can clearly see the foundations for the train track. This photograph has a created date of 25 August 1993. However, there is also another near identical photograph that was taken by Laura Luongo with a created date of October 8, 1991, which also shows the fairground with the foundations for the train track in the background.
This is nearly a two-year difference, and the foundation for that particular train track simply should not exist in 1991. Either Getty Images is wildly inaccurate with its “created” date or it proves that the foundations, the track and the station were all being prepared and built before the September 93 permit.
See the original pictures here: (picture 1) (picture 2)
After the above was posted, I found this from a reddit user. It’s a map of Neverland, complete with a newspaper article from June 1993.
It could confirm that the main Neverland train station did in fact exist in 1993 or earlier, well before its official unveiling in the first half of 1994.
Here’s a full picture of the map without the newspaper: imgur.com
Here’s a video from the guys at Neverland who won the contest in 1993: youtube.com
Here’s the bio of Randy Argue who confirms he was a guest on MTV’s special, “Weekend at Michael’s Place” in 1993: argueproductions.com/bio
And most importantly, here’s the eBay listing stating its from June 1993. Though I can’t 100% confirm it is from this time period, is highly likely that these maps would have been given out to special guests. archive.fo
The map actually lists several train stations, though most of these are probably nothing more than a gazebo style shelter, rather than any major building as a below picture shows.
It does however, say that number 8 is the main train station. Number 8, just happens to be a stone throw away from the main house, and Neverland Lake.
The picture that Smallcombe posted from getty images is allegedly from 25th August 93, but it matches perfectly with the map from June 93. You can clearly see the lake, the main house, the roads and the site of the train station, is exactly where the floral clock is.
Building is a messy industry and landscaping is always traditionally done last for obvious reasons. It wouldn’t make any logical sense to build a beautiful floral clock made of real plants, along with two staircases, before the local council had even approved the plans for the structure itself. The fact that you can clearly see the concrete foundation that the track is laid on, and signs that the ground has been disturbed strongly indicates that this site was used well before the new larger train came into service.
Two books mention a train station in 1990
Ironically, the Mirror, the same tabloid that Smallcombe has been selling/donating his stories to, have published a story that could validate that a train station did exist at Neverland prior to 93.
A book titled: “Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson” which has a paragraph that states:
"Reporters invited to tour Neverland at the 1990 public unveiling most often began by inspecting the towering statue of Mercury (the Roman God of profit, trade and commerce) in the drive of the mansion...Then climbed a hill out back that led to a near replica of the Main Street train station at Disneyland, with a floral clock that was more magnificent than the one Walt Disney had designed for his own park."
In another book titled: “In Remembering The Time: Protecting Michael Jackson In His Final Days.
Former bodyguards of Jackson’s, Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard both describe a train station being there for the big unveiling.
They wrote: "In 1990, Michael Jackson opened the gates of his Neverland Valley Ranch to the public for the first time...Neverland's visitors entered the ranch at its train station, boarding a steam engine that took them up to the main house."
Link: mirror.co.uk
Of course, anybody writing a book may have just used data and references of what Neverland looked like in its final days, and included the train station. Jackson truthers have pointed out that the two security guards did not work for Jackson at Neverland, however, they would have done their own research, and they did have inside knowledge.
If we go back to the 1993 map the two security guards may be describing the “electric train station” which is listed as number four. The electric train station is just a few metres away from the main gates of Neverland and the track is right next to it, and travels to within touching distance of the main house. However, they do describe the train as a “steam engine” and the only steam engine train was the second, larger 1993 model, not the one that used the electric train station.
The electric train station in itself is a bit of a mystery and I haven’t been able to establish what it looked like. It may just be a basic gazebo style shelter, or it may have been something more substantial. It’s extremely difficult to get a frame by frame picture of Neverland from the late 80s to the day it closed down. Do a Google search for the “electric train station”, and you’ll only get pictures of the main station.
Google Earth, however, can from 2004 confirm the presence of a building, or at least the reminiscence of one where the electric train station is listed on a 1993 map. It’s impossible to say whether there is an upstairs room from the aerial photos. Fast forward to a 2006 Google aerial image, and that building no longer appears to be present. In other words, it got demolished.
Fast forward again to a 2018 higher resolution aerial photo, and you can see there’s nothing where the electric train station should be and some of roads that were present, have now been covered by soil. You can also just about make out to the left of the valet house, a very small building, once again, right next to the tracks. I wonder what that is?
If you have Google Earth installed on your PC you can visit the precise site by typing in: 34°44’20.82″ N 120°05’33.71″ W in the search box.
Despite the electric train station only being metres away from the main (or second) gates of Neverland, I cannot find any video or photographic footage. Even if we fast forward to 2003 when Neverland was raided by the Santa Barbara and LA police, the police filmed themselves approaching the gates, yet the footage stops abruptly. This “Michael Jackson Neverland Christmas” video shows dozens of children and adults boarding the 1990 train just inside the gates, but the camera is facing the wrong way.
Trying to find video or photographic footage, especially from James’s timeframe will be difficult, if not borderline impossible.
Frank Cascio Describes a Train Station in 1993
In Frank’s book titled: “My Friend Michael”, he talks about his first visit to Neverland in the spring of 1993, where he describes a train station.
He went on to say:
"Then, in 1993, my relationship with Michael reached a new level when, for the first time, he invited my family to visit him at his home, Neverland Ranch." "For years we’d known that Michael had been building a residence in California. Often, as he was overseeing the construction of the ranch, he would say, “You should come to Neverland. There’s a movie theater, a zoo, some amusement park rides. There are no rules at Neverland. You can do whatever you want, just relax and be free..." "When we finally arrived at the gate to Neverland, we were met by security. The driver said, “We have the Cascio family here,” and the security guard opened the gate." "As if the drive from Los Angeles hadn’t been enough of an endurance challenge for six young children, once we entered the gate we still had to travel the long road up to the house. Now, though, we were, at last, in Neverland, and it truly was another world. Beautiful classical music alternating with the soundtracks from Disney movies like Peter Pan and Beauty and the Beast played throughout the property. There were sycamore trees, flowers, fountains, and acres and acres of some of the most beautiful landscapes in America. The driveway curved past a train station on the right, a lake on the left. There were bronze statues of children playing, and we were surrounded by mountains on all sides. It was stunning. Neverland was by far the most magical place I’d ever been. It still is."
Source: mjvideo.com
Frank could be describing the Flamingo Island Train Station, which according to the Neverland map is on the right with the lake being on the left. However, that’s only if the limousine driver took a right when entering the gates of Neverland and went across the lake bridge. If he had taken an alternative route and gone around the back of the lake and then onto the main road, the main train station would be on the right and the lake would be on the left. I would also question why he made no mention of the Electric Train Station, which is the first train station, you would see on the left-hand side.
Photographer Contradicts Mike Smallcombe
Harrison Funk, a former Jackson photographer may have inadvertently revealed that the main Neverland train station did exist before 1994 in a YouTube podcasts that was published on 10 February 2019.
Around the 2:17 mark on the video, the interviewer asks questions about the rollercoaster that was never built at Neverland. He then says: “I don’t think it was built because the council never allowed planning permission.” Harrison Funk then confirms he thinks that was true.
He then goes on to say:
"They gave him a really hard time about the train to, and I remember when they built the train station, I went up there to photograph the property, and umm, he wasn't there, and I was up there photographing the statues. He had animals placed on the lawn in front of the train station. I was up there for three days, just photographing statues, in situ and also the train station and I get a message to call him [Jackson] and he said, don't photograph the train station. I said why and he said, just don't photograph the train station. I said okay and then he calls me back and says I need to talk to you, but can't on this line because I don't know who's listening. And apparently he didn't want the train station photographed because he put it up without a permit, initially and was fighting with the county or whatever about it being there. Of course, they let it be there. I think you know whatever he had to do to make it stay, he made it stay. It was beautiful. It was an absolutely beautiful building. I think it's still there."
The interviewers then says yes, I think it’s still there.
Watch the video here: youtu.be
This, after all, could explain the rapid bill time. There’s no way you could go from September to mid December 93 and have a train station that was almost complete. That’s just three months.
The station, may have existed a year earlier, and whatever planning permission was published by Smallcombe was simply the final approval by the council.
Though a stupid idea, it is quite common for people to build structures without planning permission. The council can, in some cases, tell you to smash it down, or tell you to make some small alterations before they approve the plans.
Here’s a great story about a man who built a castle in his garden, without planning permission: bbc.co.uk/news/
Whatever the truth, this directly contradicts Mike Smallcombe who is adamant there was only ever one train station, as this tweet shows.
Jackson truthers do not like the fact that Harrison Funk has thrown a spanner in the works. The latest narrative is that there were multiple planning permits, and each one had to be passed individually. In other words, Jackson kept chopping and changing the plans, until he was satisfied.
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