Comic says mother of accuser was scared

A comedian who befriended Michael Jackson's young accuser said that in early 2003 she got a "very disturbing" phone call from the boy's frightened mother that sounded as if she and her children were being held against their will.

Louise Palanker, who gave the family $20,000 while the boy was being treated for cancer, told jurors that she received the call days after a damaging television documentary about Mr Jackson was broadcast in February of 2003.

In the documentary the 46-year-old pop star was seen holding hands with the youth, who was then 13, and defending his practice of sleeping with young boys at his Neverland Valley Ranch.

The self-styled "King of Pop", whose dazed and apparently fragile condition on Monday again sparked speculation about his mental and physical health, appeared in somewhat better spirits on Tuesday.

He walked into court slowly but without the shaky, shuffling gait that marked Monday's late arrival. A bailiff provided him with pillows for what has been described as a back injury and helped him ease into his seat.

Mr Palanker, a comedian and writer who met Mr Jackson's young accuser at a 1999 Hollywood "comedy camp" for underprivileged kids, testified that after watching the documentary she tried unsuccessfully to contact his family.

A few days later she got a frightened call from the boy's mother who said that she was in trouble.

"She was extremely agitated. She was almost whispering. She may have been crying at some points in the conversation. She was very frightened," Ms Palanker said under questioning by Santa Barbara County District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss.

"This was fear," Ms Palanker said. This was fear-based agitation. It was an extremely disturbing phone call."

Ms Palanker said the mother called her by her nickname, Weezy, and urged her not to call back.

"She started saying, 'Weezy, if you have caller ID, don't call this number. It's not a safe line. They're listening. These people are evil. They are keeping us."

She told jurors she was so concerned over the phone call that she contacted her lawyer. "I felt they were being held against their will," she said.

Ms Palanker's testimony, which came on the fourth week of the sensational trial, went to the heart of charges that Jackson conspired with his aides to commit child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment.

The singer is also accused of sexually abusing the boy at Neverland in February or March of 2003 and plying the youth with alcohol in order to molest him. He has pleaded not guilty and faces 20 years in jail if convicted on all counts. Ms Palanker in her testimony also contradicted assertions by defence attorney Tom Mesereau during opening statements that the mother of Mr Jackson's accuser had asked the comedian for money to help pay for medical bills, when in fact those expenses were covered by insurance.

Mr Mesereau portrayed Ms Palanker as a victim of a scam by a scheming, manipulative mother, whom he also accuses of inventing the molestation to wring money from Mr Jackson. Ms Palanker testified that it was her own idea to give the family $20,000 so that the father could take time away from work to care for his son and pay for a germ-free room for the boy to live in during chemotherapy.

She also said that the mother never asked her for money, although the father, who is now estranged from the family, did so repeatedly.