MJ in the dock over child sex claims
THE year was 2005. The case was the People of the State of California vs Michael Joseph Jackson. It was a child sexual abuse trial involving the King of Pop and Gavin Arvizo, 15. The boy alleged that MJ defiled him in February 2003 when he was 13 years ol
By Hilary Bainemigisha
and agencies
THE year was 2005. The case was the People of the State of California vs Michael Joseph Jackson. It was a child sexual abuse trial involving the King of Pop and Gavin Arvizo, 15.
The boy alleged that MJ defiled him in February 2003 when he was 13 years old.
MJ was indicted for four counts of molesting a minor, four counts of giving alcohol to a minor, one count of abduction and one count of conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive at his 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch.
He faced more than 18 years if convicted on all charges. He denied all counts and asserted that he was the victim of a failed extortion attempt. On June 13, 2005, the jury found Jackson not guilty on all charges.
Prosecution case
Prosecutors claimed Jackson showed the boy and his younger brother pornographic websites and magazines, gave them alcohol and wandered in front of them naked with an erection. The accuser’s younger brother testified that on two occasions, he saw Jackson masturbating his brother. At the same time, the boy said, Jackson had the other hand down his underpants and was masturbating himself.
Prosecutors alleged that, following the broadcast of the Bashir documentary, where he admitted sharing his bed with children, in 2003, Jackson and five associates plotted to control and intimidate the accuser’s family to get them to go along with damage-control efforts, including holding them against their will at Neverland.
His defence
Defence attorney Thomas Mesereau claimed the accuser’s mother was manipulating her children to make money after realising that Jackson was not going to continue supporting them financially indefinitely.
The family was portrayed during the trial as exhibiting a long history of attempting to extort celebrities. He pointed to an out-of-court settlement with department store JC Penney, in which the mother claimed she was sexually assaulted and racially abused by security staff after her sons were accused of shoplifting from the store. The store reportedly settled the case for over $100,000.He also pointed out inconsistencies in the family’s testimony in court and earlier statements to prosecutors.
Jackson’s lawyers consistently portrayed the singer as a naive victim of the accuser’s family, who were grifters - schemers - with a habit of wheedling money out of the rich and famous.
Bashir’s documentary
Bashir’s film, Living with Michael Jackson, was broadcast on February 3, 2003. In the documentary, Jackson admits sharing his bed with children and insists only “wacky†parents would find anything wrong with this.
He was shown holding hands with the alleged victim, and the boy lay his head on Jackson’s shoulder. Prosecutors screened the documentary for the jury and Bashir was called as the first prosecution witness. He refused to answer questions from the defence.
Chain of events
The accuser had been brought by his mother to live with Jackson. She even insisted that he calls MJ daddy. When Arvizo was diagnosed with cancer, Jackson paid all his medical expenses to have his spleen and a kidney removed. He also offered transport during his chemotherapy treatment. While the defence showed this as an innocent act of charity, the prosecutors claimed it had something to do with their intimacy.
After the documentary, California authorities searched Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in November 2003 and booked Jackson on child-molestation charges but released him on $3m bail. The district attorney opened a website for anyone who has been molested by Michael Jackson and/or who has any information against him.
Jackson offered to take Arvizo’s family on a trip to Brazil because he feared death threats related to the documentary against the family. The Arvizos claimed that Jackson wanted to trap them in Brazil to keep them from accusing him. But MJ’s lawyers asked why Jackson would buy the family a two-way ticket to and from Brazil if his plans were to ‘trap’ the family in another country.
After the Police had searched his premises, they issued a warrant for Jackson’s arrest. Jackson was in Las Vegas, Nevada recording a music video. He flew in a leased jet to Santa Barbara Airport and surrendered himself to the California Police. Driven by the Police to the Santa Barbara County Jail, he emerged from the Police vehicle in handcuffs. Images of MJ handcuffed caused outrage around the world as it was viewed as unnecessary, considering he had willingly handed himself to the Police. He was given bail but was required to surrender his passport to the Santa Barbara authorities.
Case in court
District attorney Tom Sneddon had been trying to put Jackson in prison for over a decade, believing the singer molested children at his ranch. In 1993, Sneddon failed to bring the singer to trial over allegations that he had molested another 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler. Jackson paid several million dollars to Jordan Chandler’s family to settle the case out of court.
The investigation that landed Jackson in court this time took two years and produced 1,900 pages of grand jury testimony.
Jackson’s legal team attempted to have first Sneddon and his entire office, disqualified from the trial on the grounds of bias over the failed 1993 case. The judge dismissed both attempts. Testimony and closing arguments stretched nearly 14 weeks before the jury got the case.
The trial
The trial was full of interesting testimony, dramatic moments and celebrity defence witnesses. Among the more than 130 people who testified were former child star Macaulay Culkin. He disputed testimony from earlier witnesses who claimed they saw Jackson behaving inappropriately with him in the early 1990s.
Gavin Arvizo, the accuser, testified in graphic detail about what he claimed were acts of molestation by Jackson on two separate occasions in early 2003. During the cross-examination, however, the teenager admitted he told an administrator at his school that nothing happened between him and the singer.
Police had found adult material at Neverland, which included over 70 magazines of pornography, all of which were legal. But they said the materials had fingerprints of the two brothers on them. Both boys claimed Jackson showed these adult materials to them and gave them alcohol to lower their inhibitions. Jackson denied this and claimed that the accuser and his brother were sometimes “out of control†at Neverland, that they found the magazines and drank alcohol in his absence.
Prosecution witnesses included the accuser’s mother, who was on the stand for three days, and a former security guard who testified that he saw Jackson engaged in oral sex with another teenage boy. That boy received an out-of-court settlement in his family’s molestation case against the pop star for an undisclosed amount.
Arvizo and his brother claimed that Jackson had showed them pornography and coerced them into swearing never to tell anyone.
‘I lied, mj did not molest me’ In 1993, Michael Jackson was accused of child abuse by Evan Chandler, on behalf of his then-13-year-old child, Jordan Chandler. The boy came out to say that he and MJ had engaged in sexual acts that included oral sex. The highly publicised case ended up being settled out of court for a reported $22m (about sh45b). But the strain of the saga resulted in Jackson taking painkillers, to which he eventually became addicted.
Now, faced with remorse after Jackson’s death, Chandler has decided to tell the world the truth. He has confessed that he lied. Nothing had taken place between him and MJ. He said he was forced to lie by his father for money.
“I never meant to lie and destroy Michael Jackson but my father made me tell only lies,†he said. “Now I can’t tell Michael how much I am sorry and if he will forgive me.â€
He released a statement last week, saying he cannot bear to lie anymore. “Michael Jackson didn’t do anything to me, all of it was my father’s lies to escape from being poor. I don’t really care if you believe it or not. I’m not searching for attention, I have enough of it. This is for you Mikey, I will always love you…â€
What happened
MJ and Jordan (Australian) became close friends in May 1992, to the father’s disapproval and concern. The friendship became well known, when the tabloid media reported that Jackson had become a member of the Chandler family unit.
In 1993, Evan announced he was taking Jackson to court because his son had revealed that the singer had touched his penis. What followed was an unsuccessful negotiation to resolve the issue with a financial settlement.
The boy came out to say he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex. When interrogated by the Police, he gave a description of what he alleged were the singer’s genitals. Jackson’s home, Neverland Ranch in the US, was searched.
Jackson stressed
Jackson became so stressed and had to depend on drugs, Valium Ativan and Xanax, as the allegations mounted. He even cancelled the remainder of his Dangerous world tour and went into rehabilitation overseas, where he began a relationship with Lisa Marie Presley.
On his return to the US, the Police asked him to strip and be searched to see if the description of his genitals provided by Jordan was accurate. The strip search by doctors took 25 minutes. They concluded that while there were some strong similarities, Jackson’s genitals were not a definitive match to what Jordan had described.
But Evan continued with the case. Tabloids were negative towards Jackson. The stress of the allegations caused Jackson to stop eating and he lost a lot of weight. With his health in decline, Jackson’s friends and legal advisers took over his defence and finances; they called on him to settle the allegations out of court, believing that he could not endure a lengthy trial.
Out of court
On January 1, 1994, Jackson settled out of court with the Chandler family and their legal team for $22m (about sh45b). Jordan then refused to testify in the criminal proceedings and the State had to close its criminal investigation, citing lack of evidence. Jackson was not charged with any crime.
However, Jackson’s support among the public began to waver and his own career and image was significantly damaged, which became a recurring theme in Jackson’s later music.
Prosecution evidence from the 1993 allegations resurfaced in the trial of 2005.
and agencies
THE year was 2005. The case was the People of the State of California vs Michael Joseph Jackson. It was a child sexual abuse trial involving the King of Pop and Gavin Arvizo, 15.
The boy alleged that MJ defiled him in February 2003 when he was 13 years old.
MJ was indicted for four counts of molesting a minor, four counts of giving alcohol to a minor, one count of abduction and one count of conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive at his 2,700-acre Neverland Ranch.
He faced more than 18 years if convicted on all charges. He denied all counts and asserted that he was the victim of a failed extortion attempt. On June 13, 2005, the jury found Jackson not guilty on all charges.
Prosecution case
Prosecutors claimed Jackson showed the boy and his younger brother pornographic websites and magazines, gave them alcohol and wandered in front of them naked with an erection. The accuser’s younger brother testified that on two occasions, he saw Jackson masturbating his brother. At the same time, the boy said, Jackson had the other hand down his underpants and was masturbating himself.
Prosecutors alleged that, following the broadcast of the Bashir documentary, where he admitted sharing his bed with children, in 2003, Jackson and five associates plotted to control and intimidate the accuser’s family to get them to go along with damage-control efforts, including holding them against their will at Neverland.
His defence
Defence attorney Thomas Mesereau claimed the accuser’s mother was manipulating her children to make money after realising that Jackson was not going to continue supporting them financially indefinitely.
The family was portrayed during the trial as exhibiting a long history of attempting to extort celebrities. He pointed to an out-of-court settlement with department store JC Penney, in which the mother claimed she was sexually assaulted and racially abused by security staff after her sons were accused of shoplifting from the store. The store reportedly settled the case for over $100,000.He also pointed out inconsistencies in the family’s testimony in court and earlier statements to prosecutors.
Jackson’s lawyers consistently portrayed the singer as a naive victim of the accuser’s family, who were grifters - schemers - with a habit of wheedling money out of the rich and famous.
Bashir’s documentary
Bashir’s film, Living with Michael Jackson, was broadcast on February 3, 2003. In the documentary, Jackson admits sharing his bed with children and insists only “wacky†parents would find anything wrong with this.
He was shown holding hands with the alleged victim, and the boy lay his head on Jackson’s shoulder. Prosecutors screened the documentary for the jury and Bashir was called as the first prosecution witness. He refused to answer questions from the defence.
Chain of events
The accuser had been brought by his mother to live with Jackson. She even insisted that he calls MJ daddy. When Arvizo was diagnosed with cancer, Jackson paid all his medical expenses to have his spleen and a kidney removed. He also offered transport during his chemotherapy treatment. While the defence showed this as an innocent act of charity, the prosecutors claimed it had something to do with their intimacy.
After the documentary, California authorities searched Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in November 2003 and booked Jackson on child-molestation charges but released him on $3m bail. The district attorney opened a website for anyone who has been molested by Michael Jackson and/or who has any information against him.
Jackson offered to take Arvizo’s family on a trip to Brazil because he feared death threats related to the documentary against the family. The Arvizos claimed that Jackson wanted to trap them in Brazil to keep them from accusing him. But MJ’s lawyers asked why Jackson would buy the family a two-way ticket to and from Brazil if his plans were to ‘trap’ the family in another country.
After the Police had searched his premises, they issued a warrant for Jackson’s arrest. Jackson was in Las Vegas, Nevada recording a music video. He flew in a leased jet to Santa Barbara Airport and surrendered himself to the California Police. Driven by the Police to the Santa Barbara County Jail, he emerged from the Police vehicle in handcuffs. Images of MJ handcuffed caused outrage around the world as it was viewed as unnecessary, considering he had willingly handed himself to the Police. He was given bail but was required to surrender his passport to the Santa Barbara authorities.
Case in court
District attorney Tom Sneddon had been trying to put Jackson in prison for over a decade, believing the singer molested children at his ranch. In 1993, Sneddon failed to bring the singer to trial over allegations that he had molested another 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler. Jackson paid several million dollars to Jordan Chandler’s family to settle the case out of court.
The investigation that landed Jackson in court this time took two years and produced 1,900 pages of grand jury testimony.
Jackson’s legal team attempted to have first Sneddon and his entire office, disqualified from the trial on the grounds of bias over the failed 1993 case. The judge dismissed both attempts. Testimony and closing arguments stretched nearly 14 weeks before the jury got the case.
The trial
The trial was full of interesting testimony, dramatic moments and celebrity defence witnesses. Among the more than 130 people who testified were former child star Macaulay Culkin. He disputed testimony from earlier witnesses who claimed they saw Jackson behaving inappropriately with him in the early 1990s.
Gavin Arvizo, the accuser, testified in graphic detail about what he claimed were acts of molestation by Jackson on two separate occasions in early 2003. During the cross-examination, however, the teenager admitted he told an administrator at his school that nothing happened between him and the singer.
Police had found adult material at Neverland, which included over 70 magazines of pornography, all of which were legal. But they said the materials had fingerprints of the two brothers on them. Both boys claimed Jackson showed these adult materials to them and gave them alcohol to lower their inhibitions. Jackson denied this and claimed that the accuser and his brother were sometimes “out of control†at Neverland, that they found the magazines and drank alcohol in his absence.
Prosecution witnesses included the accuser’s mother, who was on the stand for three days, and a former security guard who testified that he saw Jackson engaged in oral sex with another teenage boy. That boy received an out-of-court settlement in his family’s molestation case against the pop star for an undisclosed amount.
Arvizo and his brother claimed that Jackson had showed them pornography and coerced them into swearing never to tell anyone.
‘I lied, mj did not molest me’ In 1993, Michael Jackson was accused of child abuse by Evan Chandler, on behalf of his then-13-year-old child, Jordan Chandler. The boy came out to say that he and MJ had engaged in sexual acts that included oral sex. The highly publicised case ended up being settled out of court for a reported $22m (about sh45b). But the strain of the saga resulted in Jackson taking painkillers, to which he eventually became addicted.
Now, faced with remorse after Jackson’s death, Chandler has decided to tell the world the truth. He has confessed that he lied. Nothing had taken place between him and MJ. He said he was forced to lie by his father for money.
“I never meant to lie and destroy Michael Jackson but my father made me tell only lies,†he said. “Now I can’t tell Michael how much I am sorry and if he will forgive me.â€
He released a statement last week, saying he cannot bear to lie anymore. “Michael Jackson didn’t do anything to me, all of it was my father’s lies to escape from being poor. I don’t really care if you believe it or not. I’m not searching for attention, I have enough of it. This is for you Mikey, I will always love you…â€
What happened
MJ and Jordan (Australian) became close friends in May 1992, to the father’s disapproval and concern. The friendship became well known, when the tabloid media reported that Jackson had become a member of the Chandler family unit.
In 1993, Evan announced he was taking Jackson to court because his son had revealed that the singer had touched his penis. What followed was an unsuccessful negotiation to resolve the issue with a financial settlement.
The boy came out to say he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex. When interrogated by the Police, he gave a description of what he alleged were the singer’s genitals. Jackson’s home, Neverland Ranch in the US, was searched.
Jackson stressed
Jackson became so stressed and had to depend on drugs, Valium Ativan and Xanax, as the allegations mounted. He even cancelled the remainder of his Dangerous world tour and went into rehabilitation overseas, where he began a relationship with Lisa Marie Presley.
On his return to the US, the Police asked him to strip and be searched to see if the description of his genitals provided by Jordan was accurate. The strip search by doctors took 25 minutes. They concluded that while there were some strong similarities, Jackson’s genitals were not a definitive match to what Jordan had described.
But Evan continued with the case. Tabloids were negative towards Jackson. The stress of the allegations caused Jackson to stop eating and he lost a lot of weight. With his health in decline, Jackson’s friends and legal advisers took over his defence and finances; they called on him to settle the allegations out of court, believing that he could not endure a lengthy trial.
Out of court
On January 1, 1994, Jackson settled out of court with the Chandler family and their legal team for $22m (about sh45b). Jordan then refused to testify in the criminal proceedings and the State had to close its criminal investigation, citing lack of evidence. Jackson was not charged with any crime.
However, Jackson’s support among the public began to waver and his own career and image was significantly damaged, which became a recurring theme in Jackson’s later music.
Prosecution evidence from the 1993 allegations resurfaced in the trial of 2005.