LOS OLIVOS, Calif. – With Peter Pan as inspiration, Michael Jackson turned his lush Neverland ranch into a whimsical retreat with carnival rides, a chimpanzee named Bubbles and even a Disney-like train station where he could recapture his lost childhood.
But like the superstar's career, the property's idyllic image was tarnished when Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor there in 2003. He was acquitted, but the scandal nearly ruined Jackson and drove him from Neverland forever. Over the last four years, the property fell into disrepair, and at one point it was weeks from being sold at a public auction.


