Michael Jackson's relative allegedly feared he was grooming his young son Blanket and investigators were "convinced" the singer had preyed upon "several" of his nephews.
The New York Post's PageSix column claims multiple sources have confirmed that police had received a "credible tip" that the Thriller star had abused his family members in 2004-2005.
However, the investigation reportedly fell flat when Jackson hushed his family with gifts and threats, leading them to not cooperate with the police.
The online newspaper alleges that a former county detective had told them: "We received a credible tip about the nephews and, as with many things that happened during the investigation, Jackson’s people got wind of it and Jackson spirited the one boy off to an island.
"Well, when that boy returned, Jackson had also purchased him a brand new car which we understood, along with the trip, was to shut the nephew up."
However, a prosecution source apparently insisted that the 18-year-old nephew still "never gave a real denial".
"He was home alone and invited two detectives in, offered refreshments and he also offered that he would be unwilling to talk bad about his uncle," they said. "It was odd that he wasn’t upset with the visit, he wasn’t upset that the detectives told them what they had suspected happened between he and Michael and he never gave a real denial."
One family member is said to have told police that "he feared there were several nephews who had already been victimized and that he also feared that Jackson’s own son [Blanket] was being groomed by Jackson for unsavoury behaviour."
Another nephew allegedly denied being assaulted and the investigators eventually dropped the case because no one was willing to talk.
The police interviews took place before Jackson's molestation trial started in Santa Maria, California. In this case, Jackson was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old cancer patient, but was acquitted.
In response, Jackson's estate lawyer Howard Weitzman told The Post Jacko "never molested anyone. And, whomever would say that he would harm his own children is ridiculous."
Blanket, real name Prince Michael, was just three years old at the time of the investigation. He is now 16 and has never stated that he suffered any kind of abuse while living with his famous father.
However, last week Radar Online reported that police had found "scantily clad" photos of young boys, including Jackson’s nephews, Taj, Terrell and T.J, when they searched the star's Neverland Ranch. In addition, the singer allegedly had a Benet Ramsey doll with a noose around her neck and torture magazines in his home.
Jackson attorney Brian Oxman insisted the Radar Report had mischaracterized art as porn though, stating: "Terrell is standing naked with a shirt in front of him. It is reminiscent of Kim Kardashian on the cover of GQ magazine. He had the photo done for an album cover. There were 50 people there at that photo shoot."
Jackson's nephew Taj Jackson recently slammed the documentary Leaving Neverland, which looks at claims the singer sexually abused James Safechuck and Wade Robson.
Insisting it was "all about money and the desperate need to be relevant again", Taj wrote on Twitter: "My family and I have known Wade and his family since he came to America. Don’t tell me a 4 hour one-sided hit job that you watched is more reputable than people who actually knew him and saw his interactions. This is all about money and the desperate need to be relevant again." [sic]
