D.A. Sneddon: Jackson accuser doesn't understand acquittal
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release
By Associated Press
Wednesday, June 15, 2005 –

The boy who accused Michael Jackson of child molestation is having difficulty dealing with the pop star's acquittal, the prosecutor said.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon told several news organizations that he spoke to the accuser immediately after the singer was found not guilty on all counts Monday.

"He's very down. He's having a difficult time understanding why people didn't believe him," Sneddon said Wednesday on NBC's "Today." Jackson remained out of sight, recovering from his bruising trial. "He has to spend some time healing," said attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr., who headed the defense team.

Jackson is "at peace" as he recovers from the ordeal of his trial, his brother Jermaine said Wednesday. "Michael is recovering, but it's a time (to) rejoice for the family and we're very, very happy," Jermaine Jackson said on CNN's "Larry King Live." He would not say where his brother was spending his days since being acquitted of all charges in an indictment that alleged he molested a 13-year-old boy at his Neverland ranch in 2003. "I can't tell you that ... but he's at peace and we're very happy," Jermaine Jackson said from his home in Encino. "Look what they put him through for so long, and it's time for him to just get back into himself and just let the light come into him and the peace and that's what this moment is all about."

The entertainer hasn't been seen in public since returning home to his Neverland ranch immediately after the acquittal. He looked exhausted as he shuffled slowly out of court, giving a tentative wave to fans.

Jackson prosecutors still see pop star as a danger
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — Michael Jackson's prosecutors said Friday they still believe the pop star could be a danger to children, despite his acquittal on charges of molesting a boy two years ago. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon and his two lead deputies in the case said in an interview with The Associated Press that they believed the jury set too high a bar for evidence.

Jurors rejected the prosecution's entire 10-count case Monday after a 14-week trial. Some later said that Jackson probably had molested other boys but insisted the case they heard was not proven. (Related story: Jackson documents show jury's actions)

Sneddon, who said immediately after the verdict that he would not second-guess the jury, discussed the nature of child molesters but said he was not talking about Jackson specifically.

"They don't even stop when they get treatment," he said. "This is a sickness that is very, very difficult to cure."

Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen stressed the importance of Jackson's future dealings with children.

"He's been exposed to the criminal justice system in a very profound way. Whether he poses a threat to children in the future is, of course, entirely up to him. If he brings kids back into his bedroom and even into his bed, then yes, there's probably a high likelihood that he will pose a threat or danger to the child," Zonen said.

Jackson's attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., said earlier this week that Jackson would no longer share his bedroom with children or their families because it could put him at risk for future accusations.

Mesereau persuaded jurors that there was a reasonable doubt in the case by arguing that the accuser and his mother made up the allegations against Jackson to get money.

On NBC's The Tonight Show Friday, Mesereau said Sneddon had a "personal vendetta" against Jackson and "mischaracterized the case from day one." He said Sneddon had been searching for accusers since a previous case fell apart after the boy's family accepted a multimillion dollar settlement from Jackson.

"It was like an open casting call on Michael Jackson. The best they could come up with was this family, which we thoroughly discredited from A to Z," Mesereau said.

The prosecutors said they did not buy the defense's claims that sleeping with children was part of an effort by Jackson to compensate for a childhood lost amid his rise to stardom and abuse by his father.

"I'll tell you this: I'll match my days in the bakery working with my dad (with) his dancing routines with his dad any day of the week," Sneddon said.

Sneddon said he would have considered a conviction tragic in some ways, considering Jackson's accomplishments.

"If he had been convicted, I think that part of it would have been a tragedy — like a Greek tragedy play of a person who obviously can bring great joy and entertainment to the people around the world," he said.

Also Friday, a Jackson Web site said the singer "has not made any plans for a party," responding to a report that a weekend celebration was being organized by the pop star's family to thank fans for support.

The statement was posted on mjjsource.com, which was used by Jackson's family to release information during the trial.

A spokeswoman for the Chumash Casino near Jackson's Neverland ranch was quoted in the Los Angeles Times saying the casino had learned the family planned to hold an event Saturday for selected fans.

Phone messages seeking comment from the casino were not returned Friday.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

? Copyright 2005 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc.

Jackson Accuser Having 'Difficult Time'
Mood:  don't ask
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release
By GREG RISLING, Associated Press Writer
Wed Jun 15, 9:06 AM ET

Michael Jackson's accuser is distressed and having "a difficult time" dealing with the not guilty verdict against the pop singer, the prosecutor in the molestation case said Wednesday. Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon told NBC's "Today" that he spoke to the accuser immediately after Jackson was acquitted on all counts Monday.

"He's very down. He's having a difficult time understanding why people didn't believe him," Sneddon said.
"He's gone through a lot in his life. He's survived cancer, a very serious bout of cancer," he said. "He didn't necessarily want to get involved in this case. ... It was very painful for him to tell people what had happened to him."
Sneddon and Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen defended the decision to put the accuser's mother on the witness stand. Jurors have said she put them off by staring at them, snapping her fingers during testimony and winking at the jury foreman.

"She behaved as she behaves," Zonen said on CNN. "This is her. She does snap her fingers when she talks to you; she has unusual behavioral patterns. I was hopeful that the jury would be able to understand that she is who she is and simply accept her testimony accordingly." He said she was a vital witness because she had information no one else had.

Jackson himself hasn't been seen in public since returning home to his Neverland ranch immediately after the acquittal was announced. He looked exhausted as he shuffled slowly out of court, giving a tentative wave to fans.
"He has to spend some time healing," lead defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. said.

By late Tuesday night only 20 to 30 hardcore Jackson fans remained outside Neverland. Of the dozen or more television trucks that had once lined the walls outside Jackson's estate, only two remained. "People don't know who Michael Jackson is," said defense attorney Susan Yu. "I spent a lot of time with him. I've never seen anybody so vulnerable. This person is totally incapable of doing any of the things they said he did."

Both Mesereau and Yu said they haven't discussed Jackson's future with him, adding he needs to recover his strength before considering returning to work. During the trial, Jackson was taken to a hospital several times for an aching back.Despite the acquittal, at least three jurors said afterward they suspected the pop star has molested some boys, but not the one who accused him in court. Because of the public perceptions, Mesereau said Jackson will have to change his lifestyle
.
"He's going to have to not let people easily enter his life," Mesereau said. "He was very generous to people who didn't deserve it."As for letting children sleep in his bed, Jackson is "not going to do that because it makes him vulnerable to false charges," Mesereau said. The entertainer's concert and recording career had seemed to be sagging even before his arrest, and there has been much speculation as to whether he'll ever be able to regain the stature that saw him widely regarded as the "King of Pop" in the 1980s.

The accuser, once frail as he battled cancer, is now a high school football player who aspires to a career in law enforcement. His mother is married to an Army major with a good paycheck, and the family says abuse by the children's biological father is behind them. With the trial over, the tents outside the Santa Maria courthouse were being taken down. Also gone were the sheriff's deputies and police officers who stood sentry, as well as the barricades that limited courthouse access.

"The goal right now is to try to restore the place to the condition we found it in when we first arrived," said Peter Shaplen, media coordinator for the thousands of journalists. "It's a tough deal when you had 2,200 people here."
Carmen Jenkins, 46, said a surge in sales at her Coffee Diem store near the courthouse would help her buy a new BMW. The coffee shop, popular with journalists for its caffeine, food and wireless Internet connection, had only a few patrons the day after the verdict.
A chalkboard sign on the storefront Tuesday politely announced: "Dear Media, We will miss you very much. Thank you for everything."
___
Associated Press Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this story.
___
On the Net:
Jackson site: http://www.mjjsource.com
Copyright ? 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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'I was teenage friend of Michael Jackson'
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release


Jan 26 2005


By The Huddersfield Daily Examiner


A MILLIONAIRE from Calderdale could be called as a key witness in the Michael Jackson child abuse trial.

Club owner Terry George, 39, who lives in Stainland, spoke to the Examiner today and confirmed he had been contacted about a phone conversation he and the pop megastar had when he was just 13.

The schoolboy met Jackson when the star was touring with The Jackson 5 in 1979. The pair became friends and spoke regularly on the phone.

But Mr George, who owns a string of bars and nightclubs in Leeds, says that during one of the calls Jackson told him he was fondling himself and asked him to join in.

He said: "He was masturbating. It made me feel a bit uncomfortable, but afterwards I never thought that much about it.

"It only happened once. Normally, we would just talk like friends. It was amazing for a teenager to be able to say: `I am friends with Michael Jackson', especially as time went by because he became more and more famous."

Detective Paul Zelis, of Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department, contacted Mr George to ask him about the phone call while he was in New York filming a documentary with Martin Bashir about his friendship with Jackson.

It has not yet been confirmed whether Mr George will be called to appear in court in California when the trial starts next Monday.

Mr George, who also owns several flats in Huddersfield town centre, said he hopes Jackson is found not guilty.

"I do not feel like a victim and I never did feel like a victim," he said. "I forgot about it quite quickly.

"We only stopped talking on the phone when my mum got a #350 phone bill. That was what put an end to the relationship, not anything Michael did.

"I have not been in contact with him since 1983, but the way he has been treated by the media has been wrong.

"I do not know whether he is guilty of abusing the other boys. I hope he is not.

"It has been so sad to see a man with so much talent fall from grace like he has."

Mr George appeared on TV last night, on Channel 4's Jackson's Boys. He is also set to appear on an American documentary after the trial.

* Jackson reportedly reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with a boy who accused him of molestation in 1993. No criminal charges were brought in that case.

* In an interview with Martin Bashir in 2003 Jackson admitted to camera he had shared a bed with young boys.

* The King of Pop was indicted last April on 10 counts for the alleged sexual abuse of a Los Angeles boy in early 2003. He has pleaded not guilty to all 10 counts.

* The trial is expected to be the most high-profile since OJ Simpson was cleared of murder in 1995.

Jackson prosecutors want to show 'erotic materials'
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Prosecutors want to show jurors "erotic materials" seized from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch when the pop singer goes on trial on child molestation charges, according to newly released court documents.

The request covers books, videos and magazines seized in searches in November 2003, and three books and two photographs taken by investigators in August 1993, when Jackson faced similar allegations.

The self-proclaimed "King of Pop" resolved that case with a multimillion-dollar, out-of-court settlement, and no charges were filed.

"The listed materials are admissible and relevant as circumstantial evidence on the issues of the defendant's intent, motive and method," prosecutors argued in court papers.

Jackson, 46, is scheduled to stand trial next Monday on four counts of child molestation, four counts of administering an intoxicating agent, one count of attempted child molestation and one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He has pleaded not guilty on all counts.

In a motion filed January 18, and released Monday with large passages blacked out, prosecutors wrote that Jackson's prior conduct "demonstrating a particular state of mind" can serve as evidence of his intent and should be allowed.

The defense filed a motion Friday seeking to prevent prosecutors from referring to certain material as "pornographic" in front of jurors. Defense attorney Brian Oxman said Tuesday that the defense cannot comment due to a gag order imposed by Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, who will hear the case.

In a related matter, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon and Sheriff Jim Anderson said their offices are investigating the leaks of confidential grand jury testimony, investigative reports and other documents related to the Jackson case. Those records are covered by the gag order, they said.

"We consider the release of these materials to be a violation of the law," the county officials said in a written statement. "Some media commentators have alleged that we are responsible for these leaks. We are not. These accusations are irresponsible, unfounded and untrue.

"We are actively investigating this matter."

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/LAW/01/25/jackson.case/index.html

Jackson Transcripts Graphic
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release

By Associated Press

January 14, 2005, 10:21 AM EST

LOS ANGELES -- Michael Jackson's accuser told a grand jury that the pop star closed his eyes tightly while molesting him on a bed, according to an ABC News report that quotes from transcripts of the testimony.

The boy described Jackson's alleged crimes in graphic detail, according to the network, which said its "Primetime Live" program reviewed more than 1,900 pages of testimony.

Details on the transcripts, which have not been released, were reported Thursday on ABC's Web site and quoted on "Good Morning America." A fuller report was planned Thursday evening on "Primetime Live."

The defense initially declined comment, citing a gag order in the case. But later Jackson attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. said in a statement that the defense strongly objected to the leak of sealed grand jury testimony.

"The witnesses who testified before the grand jury were never subjected to cross-examination or impeachment by the defense," he said. "By law, no judge or defense lawyer was allowed to be present in the grand jury room. Furthermore, the defense had no opportunity to call its own witnesses to refute or criticize this one-sided proceeding."

A note on the statement issued by a Jackson spokeswoman noted it was approved by the court.

The accuser told prosecutors who questioned him before the Santa Barbara County grand jury that Jackson never spoke to him during the alleged abuse and the two didn't discuss it later, ABC reported.

According to transcripts, the boy said that when he was molested, he looked over at the pop star and "his eyes were like squinching really tight."

Jackson was indicted in April on multiple counts of molestation and a count of conspiracy involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

Some counts accuse him of administering alcohol to further child molestation. The accuser, who had cancer and lost a kidney when a surgeon removed a tumor, said he told Jackson he shouldn't drink alcohol because of his medical condition, according to the transcripts.

"And so it harms my kidney for I drink that stuff," the accuser was quoted as saying. "But he would just say, 'It's OK.' And he would just keep on telling me to drink."

Normally, grand jury transcripts are made public in California 10 days after they're received by a defendant. But the judge has kept the Jackson transcripts sealed, along with most other documents in the case.

Jury selection in the case begins Jan. 31. Pretrial hearings have been set for Jan. 21 and Jan. 27 to consider issues such as whether a child-abuse expert can testify and what should be included on the questionnaire to be given to jurors.

Copyright ? 2005, The Associated Press

Inside Michael's Private World
Mood:  sad
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release

October 4, 2004


Controversial herbalist Dr. Sebi claims that Michael Jackson's brother, Randy, brought him in this past winter to help the pop star detox from what Sebi calls an addiction crisis. "I was told by the cooks that [Jackson] was falling down and they had to pick him up off the floor? many times," Sebi told us.

Dr. Sebi is not a licensed medical doctor, but the self-proclaimed healer insists he helped Michael kick an addiction to painkillers that some published reports trace back to a painful 1984 accident where Jackson's hair caught fire shooting a commercial.


"His condition was one that was of stress because of the drug that he was taking," Sebi said of Jackson. "They were feeding him drugs all day long; he had to take them because of his sleeplessness and his nerves."

Dr. Sebi says that, starting a couple of months after Jackson was booked on molestation charges, he traveled with Michael and provided herbal compounds that eased the embattled superstar's nerves.

"When he came out of the state of stress from the drugs, his behavior was one that was free of concern about the case," Sebi told us. "He's absolutely certain that he's going to win this case. That he's not guilty."

And about Tom Sneddon and the pop star's other enemies, Sebi said, "If anything, Michael feels sorry for them. He has expressed love for Tom Sneddon."

While Sebi says Jackson seemed serene about the molestation charges, the singer created another drama in February near Aspen when he and a young man entered a Wal-Mart. The superstar wore a ski mask and scared employees, who called the cops.

"He asked me if I saw the news, and I said 'yes,'" Sebi explained. "So I asked him, 'Why did you go in there with ski masks?' He said, 'Well, I wanted to be discreet, but they called the police and said two white boys were in there with ski masks.'"

Sebi also told us Jackson seemed a good father to his kids, but was haunted by the ghost of his own troubled childhood and the burdens of lifelong fame. "The people wanted someone they could worship," Sebi told us. "And he seemed to be the perfect person. So that may have had a lot to do with the poor young man."

Dr. Sebi says he finally quit treating the superstar, and he now claims Jackson owes him $380,000, for which he plans to sue.

Jackson's spokesperson has long denied Michael has been treated for any addiction and would not comment on Dr. Sebi.

Uncle of Ex-Jackson Accuser Tells All
Mood:  loud
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release

Mon Sep 13, 5:20 PM ET

By Josh Grossberg

For those following the soap opera that is Michael Jackson (news)'s child molestation case, here's another thriller for you?new revelations about his 1993 molestation probe.


The boy who accused the popster of sexually assaulting him more than a decade ago still refers to Jackson as "the Devil in God's clothes," according to his uncle.


In an exclusive interview with NBC's Dateline to promote his new tell-all tome, All That Glitters: The Crime and the Cover-up, Ray Chandler disclosed details about the Gloved One's alleged seduction of his nephew, including why the family refused to bring molestation charges and opted for a multimillion-dollar payout.


The uncle, who had no part of the estimated $20 million settlement, played audiotapes he made with the boy's father that paint a disturbing portrait of Jackson at the time of the scandal.


In the recordings, made by Chandler with his older brother's knowledge and made available to Dateline's producers, the father is heard expressing sympathy for the then 35-year-old King of Pop, believing the relationship he struck up with his 13-year-old son in the fall of 1992 was strictly platonic.


"He's childlike. He's a child. Nothing to fear," the father said on one tape. "You put that together with the way he looks...and you feel sorry for him, okay. And you know that he--this tells you that he grew up an intensely lonely person."


According to Dateline, the pair began spending more time together.


Jackson invited the boy to sleep over at his Neverland Ranch and the entertainer, in turn, would spend the night in the boy's bedroom at the suburban home where he lived with his mother. That was in addition to showering both mother and child with expensive gifts and sending them abroad on lavish all-expenses paid vacations.


The uncle said his brother realized the singer might have had other intentions after one day finding his son cuddling with Jackson in his bed with the star's hand resting above the sheets atop the boy's groin area.


Terrified and angry because he hadn't put a halt to their relationship, the father went to court to try and gain custody of the child from his ex-wife. It was during that legal skirmish that the boy reportedly admitted to his father that Jackson sexually abused him--including kissing, fondling, masturbation and oral sex--and warned him not to speak about it or the police would send him to jail.


The father eventually confronted the Moonwalker at a Los Angeles hotel, with the boy present in the room, but Jackson denied the molestation allegations. In another recording, the father described how his son's body language and Jackson's blase indifference belied those denials.


"[My son] was not different than a little fawn out in the woods at night that gets caught in the headlights," said the father. "You could see the fear in the eyes. Anybody could see that."


In the end, however, the boy's father didn't go to the police, because he feared the publicity that would envelop them should the allegations be made public. Instead, the boy ended up coming clean about the alleged abuse to a psychiatrist, who promptly notified the authorities, per California law.


Ultimately, Chandler said Jackson's superstar status blinded the parents to the point where they absconded from their parental responsibilities--while Jackson's own child-like demeanor helped him cover up any alleged misconduct.


The uncle told Dateline that the family did their best to bring charges against Jackson, but decided to drop the probe and agree to a multimillion-dollar settlement once it was clear authorities would not protect their anonymity.


Earlier this month, Dateline also reported that Jackson paid more than $2 million to the son of a onetime employee around the same time he settled with Chandler's nephew.


The music legend's camp declined to comment on the report.


At the time of the settlement, however, Jackson proclaimed his innocence and the rest was HIStory--at least until the latest allegations of child molestation surfaced against him.

As for his alleged victim, the unidentified boy is now 24 and has undergone extensive therapy. He recently graduated college and is dating.

As for Cahndler, he's no longer close with his brother because of an unrelated family rift. But he said he wrote the self-published book not to cash in but to get the facts about Michael out in the open as he sees them.

All That Glitters: The Crime and the Cover-Up is scheduled to hit bookstores on Tuesday.

Debbie Rowe is exclusively on the ET set!
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release

Exclusive: Debbie Rowe Responds to Your Letters

September 17, 2004

This week on ET, we introduced audiences to the real DEBBIE ROWE behind the facade: we were invited exclusively into her $2 million, Beverly Hills mansion, met her beloved dogs and good friends -- and even accompanied her into the doctor's office for a cosmetic makeover!

Viewers from around the world expressed their support and concern for Debbie on ETonline. Now, MICHAEL JACKSON's former wife responds to your well wishes directly from the ET set on Stage 28 with MARY HART!

"It's nice to be able to say what I've wanted to say," Debbie tells Mary. "I really appreciate you guys doing it and thank you very much."

With reactions from viewers ranging as far as Sweden, Greece and even Serbia, people have been watching Debbie's struggle to create a new life for herself from all around the world and have responded to her story. The positive, encouraging response was incredible.

"Thank you very much, guys, it's very sweet," said a touched Debbie. "I don't see my life as being any different than anybody else in the sense that I have a home, and I'm very happy, and I have my pets, and I have my horses, and I have school, and I'm not unlike most people."

A woman who has been under constant media scrutiny ever since she married Jackson and gave him custody of their two children, PARIS and PRINCE MICHAEL, the former dermatology nurse is working hard to put the past behind her and live a life of normalcy. She's currently taking piano lessons and getting a degree in forensics along with a degree in psychology.

"I'm in transition; I'm changing," says Debbie. "I'm getting back into the horse business and I've got my school and I've got the dogs. Growing up, maybe. I don't know."

Earlier this week, we accompanied her as she received micro-dermabrasion, lash tinting, eyebrow and eyeliner tattooing and Thermage at the Woodglen Institute of Aesthetics in Glendora, CA. "I said yeah, bring it on," reports Debbie. "This procedure was great." But Debbie also has a few choice words on extreme makeovers.

"I don't like the extreme makeovers; I have a serious problem with those shows," she says. "I think they're dangerous. Everything that I've had done has been done over a course of four months, and it's very little, because a little bit at a time can make a big difference."

Watch ET for more with Debbie exclusively on the ET set!

Tape Shown of Former Jackson Accuser's Kin
Mood:  on fire
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release

Mon Sep 13, 8:19 AM ET


LOS ANGELES - Tapes of the father of a boy who accused Michael Jackson (news) of molestation in 1993 were played on the TV news magazine "Dateline," a decade after the singer reached a settlement with the boy that included an agreement not to discuss the case.


The boy's uncle played the recordings for NBC television's "Dateline," saying he made them around the time of the allegations. Authorities were investigating the allegations when the singer reached a settlement with his accuser, paying him a sum reported at $15 million to $20 million.


The alleged victim declined to cooperate with prosecutors, and no criminal charges were brought against Jackson at the time. The boy's uncle told "Dateline" that the family initially tried to help prosecutors bring charges, but stopped cooperating when authorities refused to place them in the witness protection program.


The father said on one recording that he initially thought Jackson was harmless, and even felt bad for him.


"He's childlike. He's a child. Nothing to fear. You put that together with the way he looks ... and you feel sorry for him. OK. And you know that he ? this tells you that he grew up an intensely lonely person."


The father eventually grew more suspicious of the singer.


The uncle said he is no longer close to his brother because of a disagreement unrelated to Jackson. He has written a self-published book about the allegations.


The uncle said he made the recordings with his brother's knowledge, but that his brother was not involved in writing the book.


Jackson did not admit misconduct at the time of the settlement but said that he was settling the case because of its potential to harm his career. He has said repeatedly that he would never harm a child.


Earlier this month, "Dateline" reported that Jackson also paid $2 million to the son of an employee at his Neverland Ranch in 1990 to avoid a child-molestation accusation.


Jackson's spokeswoman, Raymone K. Bain, declined to comment Sunday.


In the current molestation case against Jackson, which involves another boy, the 46-year-old pop star has pleaded not guilty to committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent, alcohol, and conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

Tape Shown of Former Jackson Accuser's Kin
Mood:  on fire
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release

Mon Sep 13, 8:19 AM ET


LOS ANGELES - Tapes of the father of a boy who accused Michael Jackson (news) of molestation in 1993 were played on the TV news magazine "Dateline," a decade after the singer reached a settlement with the boy that included an agreement not to discuss the case.


The boy's uncle played the recordings for NBC television's "Dateline," saying he made them around the time of the allegations. Authorities were investigating the allegations when the singer reached a settlement with his accuser, paying him a sum reported at $15 million to $20 million.


The alleged victim declined to cooperate with prosecutors, and no criminal charges were brought against Jackson at the time. The boy's uncle told "Dateline" that the family initially tried to help prosecutors bring charges, but stopped cooperating when authorities refused to place them in the witness protection program.


The father said on one recording that he initially thought Jackson was harmless, and even felt bad for him.


"He's childlike. He's a child. Nothing to fear. You put that together with the way he looks ... and you feel sorry for him. OK. And you know that he ? this tells you that he grew up an intensely lonely person."


The father eventually grew more suspicious of the singer.


The uncle said he is no longer close to his brother because of a disagreement unrelated to Jackson. He has written a self-published book about the allegations.


The uncle said he made the recordings with his brother's knowledge, but that his brother was not involved in writing the book.


Jackson did not admit misconduct at the time of the settlement but said that he was settling the case because of its potential to harm his career. He has said repeatedly that he would never harm a child.


Earlier this month, "Dateline" reported that Jackson also paid $2 million to the son of an employee at his Neverland Ranch in 1990 to avoid a child-molestation accusation.


Jackson's spokeswoman, Raymone K. Bain, declined to comment Sunday.


In the current molestation case against Jackson, which involves another boy, the 46-year-old pop star has pleaded not guilty to committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent, alcohol, and conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

A Jackson Investigator's Controversial Find
Mood:  loud
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release
Friday, September 03, 2004

Courtesy Getty Images Hector Mata


June 29, 2004

Accused of 10 felony counts stemming from child molestation allegations, MICHAEL JACKSON remains free on $3 million bail, awaiting a trial that is expected to begin September 13.

Tonight on ET, we have more with retired LAPD officer BILL DWORIN on Jackson's similar 1993 case!

Back in 1993, Jackson came close to facing another situation when similar accusations surfaced about alleged misconduct with a 13-year-old boy, although formal charges were never filed -- in part because the child wouldn't testify in court. At the time, the child spoke to the LAPD's Sexually Exploited Child Unit, headed by the now-retired Dworin.

"He was not angry at anything, he was just wanting to get this out of the way," Dworin tells ET. "And based upon what he told us, we then obtained a search warrant for Mr. Jackson's ranch in Santa Barbara as well as a townhouse in Century City."

At the Neverland ranch, Dworin claims he found "numerous photographs of young boys." "We knew Jackson surrounded himself with boys and girls. But we also learned that he did not allow girls to visit the bedroom. It was just boys. We also found in a locked file cabinet, within Jackson's bedroom closet, a ... book depicting photographs of nude boys. Nothing illegal about these photographs. They're art-type images."

In Jackson's bedroom, Dworin also describes an alarm that was installed that made "some type of electric sound and a musical tone" when anyone entered the room. "Jackson set it up for a specific reason," says Dworin. "My opinion is to warn him when somebody was approaching the bedroom door."

Dworin says he interviewed more than 3,500 alleged child victims of abuse and exploitation over the course of his career. In this particular case, he says he believed the 13-year-old was credible because he offered detailed descriptions of Jackson's body, including his genitalia. Dworin then obtained a search warrant to photograph Jackson's body and found specific discolorations of the skin that reportedly matched the boy's descriptions. The boy also reportedly described activities to Dworin that occurred on an alleged trip with Jackson to Monaco, which Dworin claims, "had expanded to more than just the touchy feeling. It began with the kissing."

Dworin says that two other boys the same age were interviewed who had alleged improper touching by Jackson. "It was over the clothing, not skin on skin," says the retired officer. "What we consider child annoying rather than child molestation."

But after the boy at the center of the 1993 case decided not to testify in court and Jackson settled that multi-million-dollar civil suit, the criminal pursuit of the self-proclaimed king of pop came to an end.

"Once the primary victim decided not to testify based upon a civil settlement, the other children no longer had an interest in going forward with it," says Dworin.

The "Dateline" episode about Michael Jackson is causing some controversy.
Mood:  irritated
Topic: Prosecutor Press Release

Courtesy Getty Images Mark Mainz



A Michael Jackson Exclusive!

September 3, 2004

In a new, two-part "Dateline" report, airing Friday, September 3 (8 p.m. EDT, on NBC), new information is uncovered concerning what authorities discovered in their 1993 investigation of child molestation allegations against the ubiquitous MICHAEL JACKSON. Tonight on ET, we show you exclusive legal documents revealing the frightening threats made against NORMA SALINAS -- a former housekeeper and nanny of the original accuser's father and stepmother -- soon after she was interviewed by the newsmagazine.

In the document, Salinas said she received a phone call from a man who spoke good Spanish and told her: "I don't want you to be talking more about the Michael Jackson case ... I don't want you to give any interviews to any journalist, nor no one in relation to the press because, remember, you have a son that something can happen to."

In the "Dateline" piece, Salinas claims that in 1993 she worked for the original accuser's family. She also says she cared for their young children. In her exclusive interview with "Dateline," and for the first time in public, she speaks out about what she says she personally saw inside the boy's home, including an alleged overnight stay by the "King of Pop."

In the fascinating special, "Dateline" also speaks to NBC News Analyst and former Santa Barbara County sheriff JIM THOMAS, who reveals what the focus of the 1993 investigation was, and who exactly they were looking to find.

Jackson was last seen in court in August when Santa Barbara County District Attorney TOM SNEDDON, the man prosecuting him for child molestation, took the stand. Jackson's parents KATHERINE and JOSEPH, along with his siblings JANET, LaTOYA, RANDY, JACKIE and JERMAINE, were there in support of their brother.

Jackson is charged with committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He has pleaded not guilty and is free on $3 million bail. The pop star's trial is set to begin in January.

For more on the frightening death threats made against Norma Salinas, check out tonight's ET!