Jackson 'was hurt' during arrest

Michael Jackson said he was still in pain from rough treatment by police

Michael Jackson has denied allegations of child abuse and accused Californian police of mistreating him.

In his first interview since being charged with child molestation, the singer said police had treated him very roughly during his arrest.

Mr Jackson insisted it was acceptable for him to share a bed with children, and said he would "slit his wrists" before hurting a child.

"People think sex - when I see children I see the face of God," he said.

The pop star told CBS he was "manhandled very roughly" by police in Santa Barbara after he surrendered to them to be arrested formally.

He accused officers of hurting him deliberately as they put him in handcuffs.

"My shoulder is dislocated, literally. It's hurting me very badly. I'm in pain all the time," he said in the interview recorded on Christmas Day and broadcast on Sunday.

When I see children, I see the face of God, that's why I love them so much Michael Jackson

Mr Jackson also said he had been locked in a filthy toilet for 45 minutes. Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department earlier said Mr Jackson was treated with courtesy and respect throughout the booking process.

The singer faces seven counts of child abuse and two of plying a minor with alcohol to commit a crime.

During the interview for the 60 Minutes programme, Mr Jackson was asked whether he thought that under the circumstances, it was still acceptable to sleep in the same room as children.

The 45-year-old singer answered: "Of course. Why not? If you're going to be a paedophile, if you're going to be Jack the Ripper, if you're going to be a murderer, it's not a good idea. That I am not.

"Before I would hurt a child, I would slit my wrists," he added.

BBC correspondent Robert Nisbet said the interview may have persuaded Jackson's wavering fans to support the troubled pop star.

"We were sitting with a psychiatrist who is normally very critical about Michael Jackson's behaviour, but she said that for some people who may be sitting on the fence, maybe some fans of his music, he may have been convincing.

"It was a half-hour interview, a mainly sympathetic interview, they weren't particularly aggressive questions, and it was very well stage managed, it looked a very slick production."

Mr Jackson said he did not believe the boy at the heart of the charges had turned on him.

"This is a sweet child," he said of the teenage cancer patient who he said was one of many children who had visited his Neverland ranch near Santa Barbara.

"Parents have power over children. They feel they have to do what their parents say," Mr Jackson said, hinting that demands for money could be at the root of the accusations.

He said he had created Neverland to give himself everything he had not had as a boy, such as funfair rides, zoo animals and a cinema, and had decided to share it with children who also did not get a chance to see such things.

But after the extensive police search, he said he would not live in the sprawling estate again.

"It's a house now. It's not a home anymore. I'll only visit."