Is Michael Innocent?
1993 and 2005 Trial
The 1993 Trial
"There have been many disgusting statements made recently concerning allegations of improper conduct on my part. These statements about me are totally false."
In 1993, a 13-year-old boy accused Michael Jackson of sexual molestation. Jackson had befriended the boy in 1992. Soon the boy became a regular guest at Jackson's Neverland Ranch in Santa Ynez, California. Jackson gave the boy gifts and paid for several vacation trips around the world. In 1993, the boy started to spend the night at Jackson's residence. Since Jackson would often invite children on a sleep over at his Neverland Ranch, sleeping with the boy wasn’t an unusual event. But according to the allegations, it said that Jackson had kissed and fondled the boy while they were alone in bed, during the four-month period.
At the suggestion of the boy's father, a civil lawsuit was filed in 1993. Jackson denied the accusations and continued to tour and make public appearances. While the police was still continuing their investigation, the boy's father talked Jackson into a financial settlement. On January 25, 1994, Michael Jackson settled the civil lawsuit paying an undisclosed amount to his accuser. Many believe that he paid between 15 and 20 million dollars. After receiving the settlement, the boy refused to testify in any criminal matters. Therefore, the prosecution was not able to pursue a criminal case.
The 2005 Trial
In 2003, a 13-year-old boy, who was a cancer survivor had an intimate relationship with Jackson. But as in the 1993 trial, the boy ultimately made the same accusations and pressed ahead with a criminal case. The jurors acquitted Jackson of getting the boy drunk and of conspiring to imprison his accuser and the boy's family at the storybook estate.
On the other hand, the defenses pointed out that the accuser's mother had once been implicated in a welfare fraud. The defenses verification along with the court; unable to find MJ guilty of all counts, the case was closed up the 14week trial after seven days of deliberation. In the end, the jury then pronounced Jackson’s innocence and acquitted him of all charges, but not all suspicion.
Jordan Chandler
the 13 year-old boy who
allegedly claimed he was sexually molested by Jackson
Michael Jackson's statement during the 1993 Trial
CNN Breaking New
Michael Jackson's
Second Trial in 2005
Jackson twice faced serious allegations of child abuse, allegations he always strenuously denied. A multimillion dollar settlement was reached in the first case in 1993, and Jackson was found not guilty in a circus of a criminal trial in 2005. But that ordeal left him deeply in debt and under suspicion for the remaining years of his life.
MJ
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