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I will never hurt a child, says Michael Jackson

New York Dec. 27. In his first interview since his arrest on child molestation charges, the pop star, Michael Jackson, says he still considers it all right to share his bed with children and asserts that he would "slash" his wrists before hurting a child.

"Of course. Why not? If you're going to be a paedophile, if you are going to be a Jack the Ripper, if you're going to be a murderer, it's not a good idea. That I am not," he said during an interview on CBS television network's 60-minute programme. He, vehemently, denied the charges against him.

"Before I would hurt a child, I would slit my wrists," Mr. Jackson reacted to a question about the charges brought against him that he molested a young boy.

Mr. Jackson, 45, was arrested on November 20 and is out on a $3 million bail. He is charged with seven counts of performing lewd acts on a child under 14 years of age and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to him. CBS released parts of the interview conducted in his Los Angeles hotel room on Thursday.

Referring to police search of his Neverland Ranch, he said it was overdone and so it violated his privacy and that his home will never be the same. "It's not a home anymore. I will only visit," he said. He also discusses his time in police custody, talking about the injury he says was inflicted on him by the police when they handcuffed him. — PTI

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