Larry King to testify at Jackson trial Tue May 17, 4:38 AM ET
Mood:  surprised

US television host Larry King was set to testify this week at Michael Jackson's trial, as the defense team argues that the accuser's mother made up the child-sex charges to extort the pop star.

The CNN host was scheduled to take the witness stand on Thursday, according to Jackson's spokeswoman, Raymone Bain.

The defense was expected to ask King about a claim that a lawyer who once represented the young accuser and his mother told him he didn't believe their claims against Jackson.

Jackson is charged with fondling the then 13-year-old boy, plying him with alcohol and conspiring to kidnap him and his family two years ago.

The defense has claimed in a memo to the court that publisher Michael Viner heard attorney Larry Feldman make the comments about the boy and his mother during a 2004 breakfast meeting at a Los Angeles cafe.

In earlier testimony, Feldman denied ever making the comments and said he had never met Viner, who claims he sat with King and Feldman at the breakfast meeting.

But the defense memo said that in an interview with an investigator "Viner recalled that Feldman had referred to the mother as 'a flake' and said he did not believe the boy."

"Feldman added that he did not believe them and they were into this case for one reason, 'money'."

The defense is seeking to portray the accuser as a liar whose mother is scheming to get Jackson convicted at the criminal trial so she can then make millions in a civil case.

On Monday the star's attorneys focused largely on shooting down the claim Jackson and his aides held the family captive in order to silence them.

Jurors heard how the mother never called for help when she took her two boys to an orthodontist or when she went for a full-body waxing at a time she claims she and her children were held captive at Jackson's Neverland ranch.

And Maria Gomez, who has worked as a maid at Neverland for 10 years, said the woman told her at the time that Jackson had "been a blessing for us and that he was like a father to our children."

But a little later, apparently in February or March 2003, the mother talked "about being held there against her will" and asked "that we help her leave," the housekeeper said.

At the same time, the mother complained that Jackson's aides were "interfering" in her relationship with the star and keeping her away from him, the witness said.

The defense also suffered a setback when a policeman mentioned a 1994 meeting he had with two former Neverland guards who told him they might have information about the star "kissing, fondling and sucking on the penis of a young boy."

But Detective Russell Birchim said the two indicated they feared for their safety and did not volunteer further information.

One of the former guards, Ralph Chacon, told jurors in April that he saw Jackson in the early 1990s performing oral sex on a 12- or 13-year-old boy who later won a multi-million-dollar settlement from the star.

While Jackson is only on trial for the alleged 2003 acts, the prosecution has mentioned five uncharged claims dating back to the 1990s in a bid to demonstrate he has a history of sexually abusing young boys.

Jackson, who could face up to 20 years behind bars if convicted, has pleaded innocent to all 10 charges against him.



Copyright ? 2005 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse.


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