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Jackson regrets paying off molestation claims
Michael Jackson tried to "buy peace" in the past by paying to settle child molestation claims but now -- facing trial in another abuse case -- wishes he had fought his accusers in court, a lawyer for the pop star said on Friday.
Jackson, dressed in a glittery white suit and surrounded by members of his family, stood silently by as attorney Tom Mesereau read a long statement portraying the entertainer as a victim of music industry greed. Mesereau read the statement during a break in a pretrial hearing in the latest case of alleged sexual abuse involving a teenage boy. Jackson was in court to watch the mother of his young accuser take the witness stand, where she sparred with Mesereau for more than two hours. The lawyer said that when confronted in the past with accusations of child molestation, Jackson had been pressured to make payments by his advisers and by a music industry that "did not want negative publicity from these lawsuits interfering with their profits." "Many years ago, he did pay money rather than litigate two false allegations that he had harmed children," Mesereau said. "Mr. Jackson now regrets making these payments. ... Mr. Jackson always denied doing anything wrong. "Mr. Jackson had hoped to buy peace in the process. ... He should have fought these actions to the bitter end and vindicated himself," Mesereau said. Innocence, Purity and Goodness The statement was the singer's longest and most detailed response yet to months of rumors and leaks. Various media have reported that he paid between US$15 million and US$20 million to settle a molestation claim in 1993, and that he paid US$2 million in 1990 to the son of a maid at his Neverland ranch to avoid a court case. In the current case, Jackson denies charges of sexually molesting a teenage boy and plying him with alcohol. He is also accused of conspiring to keep the boy's family silent by making them virtual prisoners at his Central California ranch. Trial is scheduled for January 31. Mesereau questioned the mother of the boy as part of a bid to exclude evidence from the trial. It was the first encounter between Jackson and the mother since the singer's arrest. The mother was identified in court as "Jane Doe" to protect the identity of her son. She made the sign of the cross as she took the witness stand and refused to concede, during questioning by Mesereau, that she knew that a man who videotaped statements by her family praising Jackson in 2002 was a private investigator working for Jackson's former attorney. The defense argues that if the woman knew investigator Brad Miller was employed by Jackson's legal team, then the police search of his offices for the tape could not have been legal. Prosecutors contend that the tapes are at the center of the case against Jackson, who is accused of bullying the family into participating in the interviews. Jane Doe denied she knew who Miller was, even though she is told on the tape twice that he is an investigator working for Mark Geragos, Jackson's attorney at the time. Under questioning from Mesereau she was often defiant and testy, maintaining that she was held prisoner at Neverland by what she called Jackson's "damage control team." Part of the charges against Jackson are that he conspired with others to hold the family prisoner so they would cooperate with him to fight child abuse allegations. Asked if she knew the purpose of the hearing, she said: "The purpose is just to bring more torture on my children." Asked if she was imprisoned anywhere other than Neverland, she said, "Everywhere they took me."
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![Entertainer Michael Jackson (R) listens as his attorney Thomas Mesereau speaks at a news conference, following Jackson's court appearance in Santa Maria, California September 17, 2004. Under the piercing gaze of Michael Jackson and his family, the mother of the teenage boy who accuses the pop star of molesting him sparred with lawyers at a hearing to determine what evidence can be allowed in the case. [Reuters]](xin_08090118142047615931.jpg)
