Santa Maria, Calif. ? As the Michael Jackson child molestation trial moves into its final stages, closing arguments could prove even more decisive here than in many other trials.

Prosecution and defense attorneys will tell two different stories, trying to convince jurors that Jackson is either a predatory pedophile and self-involved celebrity or a humanitarian who tried to aid a cancer-stricken boy but was victimized by scheming grifters.

Loyola University Law Professor Laurie Levenson, who has attended the trial, said closing arguments would be critical, unlike in most cases.

“Neither side was able to dominate the trial enough to be confident in what the verdict will be,” she said. “Both sides have to persuade the jurors what to see in the facts that have been presented. They have to help them figure out the biggest enigma: Who is the real Michael Jackson?”

Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting the then-13-year-old boy in February or March 2003, giving him wine and then conspiring to hold his family members captive to get them to rebut the damaging documentary, “Living With Michael Jackson.”

The prosecution rebuttal case wound up Friday with jurors seeing a videotape of the accuser’s July 6, 2003, interview with police. The defense then rested without calling any rebuttal witnesses. Judge Rodney S. Melville gave jurors the day off today while attorneys discuss jury instructions.

Closing arguments could begin Wednesday in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. Legal experts say the closing arguments will be crucial, as neither side appears to have an edge so far in the trial.

In closing arguments that could begin as early as Wednesday, prosecutors will paint Jackson as a manipulative molester, a weird-looking celebrity who thinks he is immune from the rules that govern normal conduct.

The defense has taken the tack of embracing Jackson’s odd appearance and lifestyle and is likely to argue that he should not be penalized for being different.

Defense lawyers will remind jurors that although Jackson did not testify, they heard him sharing details of his difficult childhood and his desire to make children happy with his Neverland amusement park.

The defense will seek to demonize the accuser and his family as well as those they contend fell for their story. They will say there are financial motives everywhere and remind jurors how the mother approached other celebrities with her tale of woe before she hit on Jackson.

Prosecutors are relying not just on the current case but on a series of allegations against the star 12 to 15 years ago. They will suggest he got away with molestation before and wants to get away with it again.

They have highlighted so-called propensity evidence they were allowed to present under a unique California law known as penal code section 1108. It allowed them to resurrect allegations from the early 1990s that Jackson molested other boys – claims that never resulted in criminal charges. Jurors were not told that Jackson paid millions to make two of the claims go away. They did hear, however, that some of his accusers sold stories to tabloid magazines for thousands.

Prosecutors called one young man to say he was touched inappropriately during tickling sessions many years ago. The defense called three now-grown men, including actor Macaulay Culkin, to say they were never touched sexually by Jackson.

Prosecutors are expected to say – as they did in opening statements – that Jackson was a star on the skids trying to resurrect his image by granting access to an interviewer who then skewered him with his own words in a video documentary, “Living With Michael Jackson.”

“Jurors will not easily decide this case,” Levenson said. “They know that they will be second guessed on so many things.”