Jackson Abused Cancer Patient, Court Told.

2005-03-01
The Journal - Newcastle-upon-Tyne

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Superstar Michael Jackson sexually abused a young cancer patient and showed him pornographic material on the internet, a Californian court was told ...

In his opening statement at Jackson's long-awaited trial, District Attorney Thomas Sneddon said that Jackson showed the boy ( then aged 10 ( adult material on various websites from the first time he stayed at Neverland in 2000.

Opening statements began after Superior Court Judge Rodney S Melville read the indictment to the jury, revealing the names of five unindicted alleged co-conspirators. All are Jackson employees.

The judge also read 28 overt acts allegedly committed in a conspiracy surrounding the alleged molestation of the boy, a cancer patient, at Jackson's Neverland ranch and a purported attempt to keep his family silent.

Mr Sneddon, Santa Barbara County's top prosecutor, told the jury that the case was about Jackson's "desperate attempt" to salvage his career after the airing of Martin Bashir's ITV documentary Living With Michael Jackson, in which the pop star is seen holding hands with the boy and saying he allows children to sleep in his bed.

Jackson had intended to exploit the boy by using the documentary to demonstrate how the singer helped him through his cancer, Mr Sneddon said. He said Jackson told him what to say.

Mr Sneddon said "Jackson's world was rocked" when the documentary was broadcast in early 2003 and backfired by creating negative publicity. At that point, he said, Jackson's team tried to get the boy and his family to rebut it.

The prosecutor said the molestation occurred after those events, in February or March 2003, when the boy was 13.

The defence has cast Jackson as the target of a money-hungry mother who coached her son to spin stories. The defence will present evidence that the mother has sued others in the past claiming abuse.

Jackson arrived at court with a throng of media watching. But there was no big crowd of fans, just a handful outside and about a dozen in the courtroom.

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