Years after first being accused of sexual abuse,Michael Jacksonfaced a 2005 criminal trial for child molestation, which ended with the pop star being acquitted on all charges.
In the documentary, which sparked outrage, Jackson and the boy were shown holding hands, and Jackson also defended letting children sleep in his bedroom, describing it as “loving,“CNNreported.
Shortly after being released on a$3 million bail, Jackson was formally charged seven counts of child molestation and two counts administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of committing a felony, according to Global News. The singer pleaded not guilty to all charges.
During the 14-week trial, the prosecution’s case centered around Gavin, then 15, who claimed Jackson had gotten him drunk and molested him on several occasions, theNew York Timesreported. The boy’s younger brother also testified having seen Jackson molest his brother.
Additionally, the boy’s mother, Janet Arvizo, testified against Jackson, alleging the singer had held her family captive at Neverland Ranch, although the jury found her unlikable and combative, the outlet reported.
Jackson’s lawyers were able to poke holes in the family’s testimonies, and were also able to convince the jury, who already found Janet unlikeable, that she was a “con artist” who had made her children lie on the stand, according to Global News.
“As a mother, the values she has taught them, it’s hard for me to comprehend,” one Santa Monica juror said after the verdict was delivered, according to theTimes. “I wouldn’t want any of my children to lie for their own gain.”
Ron Wolfson/WireImage
Although Jackson did not testify during the trial, his lawyers portrayed the family as trying to scheme money out of the singer, according to CNN.
Also among those who testified on the singers behalf were former child actorMacaulay Culkinand Australian choreographerWade Robson,one of two Jackson accusersfeatured in the documentaryLeaving Neverland.
“It’s not true,” he told jurors, the outlet reported at the time, adding that he was “very mad” about allegations to the contrary.
RELATED VIDEO: Michael Jackson Estate Criticized for Releasing Concert as New Abuse Documentary Premieres
Before delivering their not guilty verdict on June 13, 2005, the jury deliberated for 30 hours, according to theNew York Times. Should Jackson have been found guilty, he could have faced up to 20 years in prison.
“In a case like this, you’re hoping that maybe you can find a smoking gun or something that you can grab onto that says absolutely one way or another. In this case, we had difficulty in finding that,” one juror told theTimesafter the verdict was delivered.
Ahead of the release ofFinding Neverland,Robson, now 36, opened up about hisdecision to testifyon Jackson’s behalf during the trial.
“Michael’s training of me to testify began the first night that he started abusing me,” Robson alleged during an interview withCBS This Morning. “He started telling me that, ‘If anybody else ever finds out, we’ll both go to jail, both of our lives will be over.’ "
“I wish that I was ready,” Robson continued. “I wish … that I could’ve played a role in, at that point, stopping Michael from abusing however many other kids he did after that.”
Michael Jackson and Wade Robson.HBO
Robson first sued in 2013, claiming that Jackson abused him for nearly a decade. He later said in an amended complaint to his 2013 lawsuit that MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures wereoperations “specifically designed to locate, attract, lure and seduce child sexual abuse victims.“A probate court in 2015 rejected his claim against the estate itself, which left the two business entities as defendants.
At the time of the ruling, Jackson’s estate said in a statement, “In my opinion Mr. Robson’s allegations, made 20 plus years after they supposedly occurred and years after Mr. Robson testified twice under oath — including in front of a jury — that Michael Jackson had never done anything wrong to him were always about the money rather than a search for the truth.”
He claimed the abuse continued for seven years and ended only when he “began showing signs of puberty” and Jackson was “no longer as interested in him sexually.”
In 2017, a California judgedismissed Robson’s caseagainst Jackson’s estate and two companies it controls, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, and ruled that it is not liable for Jackson’s alleged childhood sexual abuse of the celebrity choreographer.
Dan Reed, Wade Robson, James Safechuck and Oprah.Bennett Raglin for Own Network
InLeaving Neverland, Robson and James Safechuck, now 40,allege Jackson repeatedly molested them as boys. The documentary garnered significant buzz upon its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January, and is being broadcast on HBO in two parts airing on Sunday and Monday. (The Jackson family hasfiled a lawsuitagainst HBO and in aCBS This Morninginterview with Gayle King, which aired last week, the singer’s brothers, Tito, Marlon, and Jackie Jackson, as well as Jackson’s nephew, Taj Jackson —denounced the filmand Robson and Safechuck’s claims.)
Leaving Neverlandairs Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m. EST on HBO.
source: people.com
