« Children lack verbal skills necessary to reveal sexual abuse, study says | Main | Lisa Montgomery in Court »
December 19, 2004
Jacko’s annus horriblis
Devastating child abuse charges dogged fallen pop icon Michael Jackson in 2004, but things could get worse next year with the start of a trial that could see the star jailed for years.
Despite the child abuse allegations, Jacko's legion of fans are standing by their man
Mystery, innuendo and rumour swirled around the King of Pop during a year packed with sometimes circus-like pre-trial hearings in the case that remains cloaked in secrecy under a court-imposed gag order.
With few new details of the case emerging, the world's attention shifted to Jackson himself, who appeared in court four times this year, each time turning the proceedings into a media and public frenzy.
“It's been quite a spectacle,” said Loyola Marymount law professor Laurie Levenson, who has followed the case despite the much-disputed gag order. “It's been like watching mystery theatre. It's impossible to predict the outcome. I don't even know what the prosecution aims to prove and what evidence they have to prove it,” she said.
Jury selection in the trial is scheduled to begin on January 31, 2005, but Jackson's lawyers have asked for a six-week delay, blaming prosecutors for prolonging the hunt for evidence against him.
In early December, more than a year after his arrest, investigators launched a fresh search raid on Jackson's Neverland ranch in California and took a DNA swab from his mouth, leaving observers of one of the most-watched criminal cases of the year baffled.
The entertainment legend who brought the world Thriller and Billie Jean saw his career almost completely stalled in 2004 as he defended himself against allegations that he molested a now 14-year-old boy in February and March of 2003.
The 46-year-old has pleaded innocent to 10 charges, including sexual assault on the boy, a recovering cancer patient, plying him with alcohol and conspiring to hold the youth and his family hostage at Neverland.
Jackson has dismissed the allegations as unfounded and part of an effort to blackmail him.
He remains free on $US3 million ($A3.97 million) bail, stumped up when he turned himself in to police amid an unprecedented barrage of publicity on November 20, 2003.
The publicity reached fever pitch when Jackson faced Judge Rodney Melville in court in January and then again in April, to plead innocent to the apparently shifting charges against him.
On January 16, 2004, the Gloved One, seeming unable to differentiate between being on stage and being on trial, evoked the screams of thousands of fans and the ire of Melville by dancing on top of his car outside the courtroom after turning up late for his arraignment.
He made three more court appearances, arriving either in a customised tour bus or a fleet of SUVs, each time flanked by his parents and famous siblings, who were all decked out in white to show their support.
The entertainer turned up twice in court when his attendance was not required, to personally stare down his arch enemies: chief prosecutor Tom Sneddon and the mother of the boy he is accused of molesting.
Jackson has accused Sneddon, who attempted but failed to prosecute him on other child abuse charges in 1993, of waging a personal vendetta against him, and he tried, unsuccessfully, to get Sneddon kicked off the case.
And as his lawyers battled to get evidence seized in searches thrown out of court, Jackson dismissed the boy's mother as a money-grubber seeking to profit from him.
But even his wealth - once estimated at around $US1 billion ($A1.32 billion) - was called into question in 2004, when Jackson was hit by a wave of lawsuits by travel agents, antiques dealers and even his herbalist, accusing him of non-payment of bills.
Though few of the details of the allegations against Jackson have emerged, the world got a tantalising peek behind the high fences of Neverland and into the life of one of the world's top stars.
The glimpse came when the court was shown police videos of a search on the expansive property, which one prosecutor charged was built by Jackson complete with its own amusement park in order to abduct, seduce and abuse children.
The Tudor-style mansion was decked out in an eclectic combination of European styles, with dark wood panelling and suits of armour, offset by life-size statues of cartoon and movie characters.
“It was like a chaotic mix of sophistication and a childish fantasy,” said one reporter who saw the videos.
Posted by Nealus at December 19, 2004 11:55 PM
