fbpx
Wikipedia

1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson

In 1993, Evan Chandler, a dentist and screenwriter based in Los Angeles, accused the American singer Michael Jackson of sexually abusing Chandler's 13-year-old son, Jordan. Jackson had befriended Jordan after renting a vehicle from Jordan's stepfather. Though Evan Chandler initially encouraged the friendship, he later confronted his ex-wife, who had custody of Jordan, with suspicions that the relationship was inappropriate.

Chandler wanted to resolve the issue with a financial settlement, but he and Jackson could not agree on an amount. In July, Jordan told a psychiatrist and police that Jackson had sexually abused him, triggering an investigation. Some of Jackson's staff reported inappropriate behavior, but the police dismissed their accounts as not credible as they had sold their stories to tabloids or had grievances against Jackson. Jackson's legal team maintained that Chandler was attempting to extort Jackson, citing a phone recording in which he said he was going to "humiliate" Jackson and "win big-time".

In August 1993, as the third leg of Jackson's Dangerous World Tour began, news of the allegations broke and received worldwide media attention. Jackson canceled the remainder of the tour, citing health problems arising from the scandal. That September, the Chandlers filed a lawsuit against Jackson. They and Jackson reached a financial settlement in January 1994; Jackson and his legal team stressed that this was not an admission of guilt. The investigation found no physical evidence against Jackson. In September 1994, the investigation was closed after the Chandlers declined to cooperate, leaving the case without its main witness.

The allegations affected Jackson's public image and commercial standing. Several of his endorsement deals were canceled, including his decade-long Pepsi endorsement. Further allegations of abuse by Jackson led to the People v. Jackson trial in 2005, in which Jackson was found not guilty on all charges. In November 2009, five months after Jackson's death, Evan Chandler died by suicide following several years of depression and estrangement from his family.

Background

 
Jackson's Neverland Ranch home, where the sexual abuse was alleged to have taken place

According to Consequence of Sound, in 1993, the American pop star Michael Jackson was the most popular musician in the world.[1] That February,[2] Jackson's car broke down and was towed to a local garage, Rent-A-Wreck.[1] The Rent-A-Wreck owner David Schwartz called his wife, June Chandler-Schwartz, to meet Jackson. She brought her son from a previous marriage, Jordan Chandler.[1] Jordan's father, Evan Chandler, was a dentist who treated Hollywood celebrities. He was also a screenwriter who co-wrote the 1993 comedy Robin Hood: Men In Tights.[1]

Jackson and Jordan became close; the National Enquirer ran a featured story titled "Michael's New Adopted Family", implying that Jackson had "stolen" Jordan from Evan. Jackson invited Jordan, his stepsister and his mother to visit his home, Neverland Ranch, on the weekends. They would also take trips to Las Vegas and Florida.[3] These trips interfered with Jordan's scheduled visits with Evan, with Jordan preferring to visit Neverland Ranch.[4]

In May, Evan encouraged Jackson to spend more time with Jordan. Evan suggested that Jackson should build an extension onto Jackson's house; when they were denied planning permission, Chandler suggested Jackson buy him a house. In the same month, Jordan and June flew with Jackson to Monaco for the World Music Awards.[5][4] According to June's lawyer, Michael Freeman, Evan was jealous and felt left out. Upon their return, Jackson stayed in the Schwartz-Chandler home for five days; Jackson slept in a room with Jordan and his stepbrother.[5] Chandler said this is when he became suspicious of sexual misconduct by Jackson, although he said that Jackson and Jordan were clothed when he saw them in bed together, and never claimed to have witnessed sexual misconduct.[6] Jordan and Jackson's contact ended in June 1993.[2]

Allegations

On July 8, 1993, Schwartz phoned Evan to discuss Jordan’s relationship with Jackson. Unbeknownst to Evan, Schwartz recorded the phone call.[7] Chandler was hostile about Jackson, describing him as "evil".[1] He said he had hired "the nastiest son of a bitch he could find", the lawyer Barry Rothman, to humiliate Jackson, and said:[1]

Once I make that phone call, this guy is going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious, nasty, cruel way that he can do it. I've given him full authority to do that ... If I go through with this, I win big-time. There's no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever ... Michael's career will be over ... This man is going to be humiliated beyond belief. He will not believe what is going to happen to him, beyond his worst nightmares. He will not sell one more record.

When Schwartz asked how this would affect Jordan, Chandler replied:[1][8]

That’s irrelevant to me. The bottom line is, yes, his mother is harming him, and Michael is harming him. I can prove that, and I will prove that. It cost me tens of thousands of dollars to get the information I got, and you know I don’t have that kind of money. I’m willing to go down financially.

In August, Chandler extracted one of Jordan's teeth.[9] While Jordan was under the effects of the sedative, Evan asked him if Jackson had ever touched his penis; Jordan said yes.[1]

Chandler and his legal team approached Jackson asking for $20 million, threatening to take the dispute to a criminal court. Jackson refused, saying, "No way in hell." A few weeks later, Jackson's legal team made a counter-offer of $1 million; this was declined by Chandler, who then requested $15 million. Jackson refused and lowered his offer to $350,000, which Chandler also refused.[10][11] According to some sources, Evan unsuccessfully sought a $20-million film production deal with Jackson to avoid going to court.[12] In October 1994, Mary A. Fischer of GQ reported it was Chandler who initially accused Jackson of molesting his son, before he demanded a screenwriting deal from Jackson instead of going to the police.[13]

On July 15, the child psychiatrist Mathis Abrams wrote to Rothman, who was seeking an expert opinion to help establish the allegations against Jackson. Abrams wrote that there was "reasonable suspicion" of sexual abuse without having met Evan or Jordan. He also said that, if this were not a hypothetical case, he would be required by law to report the matter to the Los Angeles County Department of Children’s Services.[14][15][16] On August 17, Evan took Jordan to Abrams and told him Jordan had been molested.[1] Over a three-hour session, Jordan told Abrams that Jackson had sexually abused him for months and gave graphic accounts of masturbation and oral sex.[1] Jordan repeated these allegations to police and described Jackson's penis.[17][10][18] According to the county's DCFS reports, Jordan had difficulty remembering the times and dates of his alleged molestation, but was consistent in his story.[19]

Investigation

 
Jackson during the Dangerous World Tour in 1993

On August 18, 1993, the Los Angeles Police Department's Sexually Exploited Child Unit began a criminal investigation into Jackson. June Chandler initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested her son; however, her position wavered a few days later.[20] On August 21, a search warrant was issued, allowing police to search Neverland Ranch. Police questioned 30 children who were friends of Jackson; all stated that he was not a child molester.[21][22] Gary Hearne, Jackson's chauffeur, testified in his deposition to driving Jackson to Jordan's house at night and collecting him in the morning for a period of about thirty days.[23]

On August 24, the day the allegations were made public, Jackson began the third leg of his Dangerous World Tour in Bangkok. That day, Anthony Pellicano, a private detective hired by Jackson, held a press conference accusing Chandler of trying to extort $20 million from Jackson. He did not mention that Jackson had made several counter-offers.[21][22] The Jackson family also held a press conference, saying it was their "unequivocal belief" that Michael was a victim of extortion.[24][25] On August 26, Jackson's promoters released an audiotape of him apologizing to his fans for cancelling his second show in two days.[26]

On August 31, attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference stating she had been retained on behalf of the Chandlers, and implied a civil suit against Jackson would be made.[27] On September 10, Allred said that she was off the case, declining further comment as to why.[28] On September 13, the Chandlers hired Larry R. Feldman, former Los Angeles County Bar Association president.[29]

On October 6, 1993, Jordan Chandler underwent a psychiatric interview with Dr. Richard Gardner in New York. Dr. Gardner had formulated Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS) in 1985, a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child-custody disputes.[30] Jordan gave his account of what allegedly happened between him and Jackson in May 1993, during their trip to Monaco for the World Music Awards.[31][32] On November 8, police searched the Jackson family home, Hayvenhurst.[21][33][34]

The Schwartzes gave the tape of Chandler's July conversation with Schwartz to the authorities, who leaked it to the press.[1] The recorded conversation was a critical aspect of Jackson's defense against the allegations made against him.[35][36] Jackson and his supporters argued that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort Jackson.[37][38] The tape was publicly released by Pellicano, after edits had been made.[39]

Testimony from staff and other children

Brett Barnes, aged 11, publicly said he had shared a bed with Jackson, but insisted there was no sexual abuse: "I was on one side of the bed and he was on the other. It was a big bed." Wade Robson, aged 10, told Fox Television that he too shared a bed with Jackson but that nothing sexual had happened.[2] Several parents complained of aggressive investigative techniques by police; they claimed the police frightened their children with lies such as "we have nude photos of you",[40] and told parents their children had been molested even though their children had denied it.[34]

In September 1993, police officers traveled to the Philippines to interview two of Jackson's ex-housekeepers. However, the ex-employees lacked credibility due to a back salary argument they had with Jackson.[41][34] A former security guard made various allegations about Jackson, saying he was fired because he "knew too much", and alleged that he was ordered by Jackson to destroy a photo of a naked boy. Instead of reporting this alleged event to the police, he sold the story to Hard Copy for $150,000. On December 13, 1993, Jackson's maid, Blanca Francia, alleged that she "quit in disgust" after seeing Jackson in a shower with a child, but did not inform the police. Lisa D. Campbell reported that Francia had been fired in 1991 and had sold her story to Hard Copy for $20,000.[42][43] However, when Diane Dimond interviewed Francia on the show, she denied being fired but acknowledged being compensated by Hard Copy.[44]

On December 2, 1993, attorney Charles Mathews held a press conference about his clients allegedly being threatened and harassed by Anthony Pellicano's machinations. Mathews was representing Jackson's former security guards in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed on November 22. The lawsuit alleged wrongful termination due to "firsthand personal knowledge of many of [Michael Jackson's] nighttime visits with young boys".[45]

Investigation into Chandler

The police also began an investigation into Evan Chandler for extortion, finding that he was $68,400 behind in his child support payments despite being well-paid as a dentist.[46] Following a five-month investigation, deputy Los Angeles County District Attorney Michael Montagna released a public statement stating no charges had been brought against Chandler, citing Jackson's lawyers' failure to file for extortion in a timely manner and Jackson's willingness to negotiate with Chandler for several weeks. Montagna explained that settlements were encouraged as they were favored by the law. Montagna also said the discussions between Jackson's representatives and Barry K. Rothman, Chandler's attorney at that time, appeared to have been attempts to settle a possible civil case, not efforts to extort money.[47]

Use of sedatives

Chandler admitted he had used the sedative sodium amytal during Jordan's dental surgery, during which Jordan said Jackson had touched his penis. Sodium amytal is a barbiturate that puts people in a hypnotic state when injected intravenously. Studies carried out in 1952 demonstrated that it enabled false memories to be implanted.[48][1] According to Alison Winter, a science historian at the University of Chicago, these types of drug place people in a state of "extreme suggestibility ... People will pick up on cues about what questioners want to hear and repeat that back."[1]

Mark Torbiner, the dental anesthesiologist who administered the drug, told GQ that if sodium amytal was used, "it was for dental purposes".[48] According to Diane Dimond of the tabloid TV program Hard Copy, Torbiner's records show that Robinul and Vistaril were administered instead of sodium amytal.[49] The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration was investigating Torbiner's administration of drugs during house calls, where he mostly gave patients morphine and Demerol.[48] Torbiner's credentials with the Board of Dental Examiners indicated that he was restricted by law to administering drugs solely for dental procedures, but he had not adhered to those restrictions; for example, he had given general anesthetic to Barry Rothman during hair transplant procedures.[50] Torbiner had introduced Chandler and Rothman in 1991, when Rothman needed dental work.[48]

Strip search

On February 10, 1993,[51] Jackson had revealed in a televised interview that he had vitiligo, a skin disorder that destroys skin pigmentation and creates blotches. The interview was watched by 90 million viewers, and after it aired expert information on vitiligo was widely shared in the media.[52] According to Pellicano, Jordan Chandler said in July 1993 that Jackson did lift his shirt once to show the blotches on his skin.[10]

On December 20, 1993, investigators for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department and the LAPD issued Jackson with a warrant for a strip search, as police wanted to verify Jordan's description of Jackson's private anatomy. The officers photographed Jackson's entire body.[53][54] The police were looking for discoloration, any signs of vitiligo that Jordan had spoken about, or any other skin disorder. Refusal to comply would have been used in court as an indication of guilt.[55]

Those present for the prosecution were District Attorney Tom Sneddon, a detective, a photographer, and a doctor. Those present on behalf of Jackson were his two attorneys, a physician, a detective, a bodyguard, and a photographer. The attorneys and Sneddon agreed to leave the room when the examination took place. At Jackson's insistence, the prosecution detective also left. In an emotional state, Jackson stood on a platform in the middle of the room and disrobed. The search lasted for approximately 25 minutes. He was never touched.[56]

On January 28, 1994, Reuters and USA Today reported that an unidentified source had told that the pictures did not match Jordan's description.[57][58][59] According to LAPD detective and pedophilia expert Bill Dworin, who spoke to NBC News in February 2003, Jordan's description matched the photos of Jackson's genitalia. Dworin did not believe that Jordan's accusations were coached.[60] The DA and the sheriff's photographer stated that the description was accurate, but the jurors felt that the photos did not match the description.[61][62] In March 1994, Jackson's mother Katherine was called to testify in front of the LA County Grand Jury. Investigators asked whether her son had altered the appearance of his genitalia.[63] Jordan claimed that Jackson was circumcised.[64] However, Jackson's autopsy report showed that he had not been circumcised and his foreskin appeared intact, with no signs of surgical restoration.[65]

On January 4, 1994, Larry Feldman filed a court motion in an effort to obtain the police photographs of Jackson. The motion stated a "multiple choice" request: either provide copies of the photographs, submit Jackson to a second search, or the court can bar the photographs from the civil trial as evidence. Feldman said that the district attorney's office previously refused the request of these photographs.[66] Jackson's lawyers asked a Santa Barbara County judge to order prosecutors to return the nude photographs, fearing they would become public, but were denied.[67]

Allegations by La Toya Jackson

On September 2, 1993, as a guest on the Today show, Jackson's sister La Toya Jackson expressed support for her brother, stating: "I stand by [Michael] one thousand percent… If you think about it, he has been convicted before a trial." In the same interview, she said she could not tell if the allegations were true and that, not being a judge, could not assess this. A few weeks later, on the Maury show, La Toya said Jackson was being convicted by the public without having been charged with any crime. She said there was nothing inappropriate about his relationship with children and that she would never believe such allegations.[68]

 
Jackson's sister La Toya Jackson in 2010

However, on December 8, 1993, La Toya, who had been estranged from the Jackson family and not seen her brother for several years, said Jackson was a pedophile.[56][69] She said she had seen checks made out to different boys' families and that Jackson's own childhood physical abuse had turned him into an abuser. She and her then-husband Jack Gordon also said that Jackson had tried to kidnap and kill her.[70][71] On December 9, La Toya repeated her suspicions to Katie Couric on Today: "I do know he'd have boys over all the time and they'd stay in his room for days. Then they would come out ... There'd be another boy and he'd bring someone else but never two at a time."[72][73][74]

La Toya said she had proof of Jackson's pedophilia and offered to disclose it for $500,000. A bidding war between US and UK tabloids began, but fell through when, as Jackson's biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote, "She didn't have much to offer, after all."[75] The Jackson family disowned her, and in later years she recanted the allegations, saying she had been forced to make them by her husband.[76][77] Prior to making the allegations, Gordon had been arrested for assaulting her, and the couple divorced three years later.[78] By the turn of the millennium, Jackson had forgiven his sister.[56] In 2009, when recanting her 1993 statements to the broadcaster Barbara Walters, she said that Jackson had not been a pedophile and had never indulged in improper relations with a child.[79]

Lisa Marie Presley

According to Chris Cadman, Jackson met the singer Lisa Marie Presley around May 26, 1974, during a Jackson 5 engagement in Lake Tahoe. Her father, Elvis Presley, was closing a two-week engagement at the Sahara Tahoe while the Jackson 5 were just about to begin one.[80][24] In November 1992, Jackson was reconnected with Presley through a mutual friend, and they talked almost every day by telephone.[81] As the abuse accusations became public, he became dependent on Presley for emotional support; she was concerned about his faltering health.[82] She stated, "I believed he didn't do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started falling for him. I wanted to save him. I felt that I could do it."[83] She described him in one call as high, incoherent and delusional. He proposed to her over the phone in late 1993, saying, "If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?"[82] They divorced less than two years later.[84]

Jackson's health

Jackson took painkillers for his scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to deal with the stress of the allegations.[85] Within a few months of the allegations becoming news, he had lost approximately 10 pounds and stopped eating.[86] According to Jackson, he had a tendency to stop eating when "really upset or hurt" and his friend Elizabeth Taylor had to make him eat: "She took the spoon and would put it into my mouth." He said that he eventually became unconscious and had to be fed intravenously.[87]

While in Mexico on November 8, 1993, in a court deposition unrelated to the alleged child abuse, Jackson appeared drowsy, lacked concentration, and slurred while speaking. He said he could not remember the dates of his album releases or the names of people he had worked with, and took several minutes to name some of his recent albums.[88] On November 12, Jackson canceled the remainder of his tour and flew with Taylor and her husband to London. When Jackson arrived at the airport, he had to be held up. He was rushed to the home of Elton John's manager and afterward to a clinic. When he was searched for drugs on entry, 18 vials of medicine were found in a suitcase. Jackson booked the whole fourth floor of the clinic and was put on a Valium IV to wean him from painkillers. While in the clinic, he took part in group and one-on-one therapy sessions.[89][90]

On November 15, Jackson's lawyer, Bert Fields, spoke publicly of their last meeting in Mexico City and Jackson's painkiller addiction: "[Michael's] life was in danger if he continued taking these massive quantities of drugs. He was barely able to function adequately on an intellectual level."[91][89][85] Fields insisted that a U.S. drug rehabilitation center would not have the privacy Jackson wanted. He also stated that his client was not trying to evade investigation: "If Michael Jackson wanted an excuse to stay out of the United States, all he had to do is stay on his tour."[85] On November 23, Fields resigned from the case.[39]

Jackson's response

On December 22, 1993, Jackson responded to the accusations for the first time via satellite from Neverland Ranch. He denied all the allegations and stated his intent to prove his innocence. He accused the media of manipulating the allegations to "reach their own conclusions", and described the "dehumanizing" police search as "the most humiliating ordeal of my life".[92][93] On January 5, 1994, a few weeks before the settlement, Jackson gave a five-minute speech at the 26th NAACP Image Awards asserting his innocence and received a standing ovation. During the ceremony, one presenter had included Jackson in a list of names, calling him "Michael (Innocent Until Proven Guilty) Jackson".[94]

Media reaction

Most of the information available on the allegations was released (officially or unofficially) by the prosecution and unchallenged by Jackson. He was largely portrayed as guilty by the media, which used sensational headlines implying guilt when the content itself did not support the headline.[95][22] Stories were purchased of his alleged criminal activity,[96] police investigation material was leaked,[46] and unflattering photographs of Jackson were printed.[24]

Two weeks after the allegations were reported, the headline "Michael Jackson: A Curtain Closes" reflected the attitude of most tabloid media.[97] The New York Post ran the headline "Peter Pan or pervert".[98][24] In a piece for Hard Copy, Dimond—a journalist who spent the next fifteen years trying to prove Jackson was a pedophile—ran a story stating it had acquired "new documents in the criminal investigation of Michael Jackson, and they are chilling; they contain the name of child movie actor Macaulay Culkin". In fact, the document stated that Culkin denied being abused by Jackson.[22][99]

Two tabloid media outlets bought confidential leaked documents from the LAPD for $20,000.[46] A number of Jackson's former employees—most of whom had worked at Neverland—sold stories which alleged prior sexual misconduct on Jackson's part, instead of reporting their claims to police. One couple asked for $100,000, claiming that Jackson had sexually caressed Culkin. For a fee of $500,000, they would also allege that Jackson put his hands down Culkin's pants. Culkin strongly denied the allegation and did so again in court during Jackson's 2005 trial.[96]

When Jackson left the US to go into drug rehabilitation, the Daily Mirror (UK) held a "Spot the Jacko" contest, offering readers a trip to Disney World if they could correctly predict where he would appear next.[100] A Daily Express headline read "Drug treatment star faces life on the run", while a News of the World headline said Jackson was a fugitive. These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have cosmetic surgery that would make him unrecognizable.[90] Geraldo Rivera set up a mock trial, with a jury made up of audience members, even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime.[101] A poll at the time, conducted by A Current Affair, found that nearly 75 percent of Americans believed Jackson was telling the truth.[102][103][104]

Lawsuit

On September 14, 1993, Jordan Chandler and his parents filed a lawsuit[note 1] against Jackson.[105] The lawsuit claimed that Jackson had committed sexual battery, seduction, willful misconduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and negligence.[106][107] In November, Jackson's lawyers asked the case be put on hold for as long as six years or until the criminal case was concluded.[107][108] Concerns about a civil trial during an ongoing criminal investigation, and prosecutors' access to plaintiffs' civil trial information, stemmed from Jackson's Fifth Amendment rights.[109] Since two grand juries deemed there was insufficient evidence for criminal charges by the end of the investigation, the prosecution could have been able to form the elements of a case around the defense strategy in the trial, creating a situation akin to double jeopardy.[110][111]

Superior Court Judge David M. Rothman ordered Jackson's deposition scheduled before the end of January 1994 but said he might reconsider if Jackson was indicted on criminal charges. Jackson agreed to be deposed on January 18. His attorneys said he was eager to testify, but also said they might oppose the deposition if criminal charges were filed or were still under consideration on his deposition date. They said if charges were filed, they would want the criminal trial to go first.[112] However, when authorities notified Jackson's lawyers that they expected their investigation to continue at least through February, Jackson's team failed to win a delay of the civil case. Rothman denied the motion to delay the civil proceedings until the criminal investigation had been completed, and set March 21, 1994, as the trial start date.[113]

Pellicano said Chandler's negotiations had been an attempt to extort Jackson. To try to demonstrate this, he produced illicit recordings of his negotiations with Rothman. Illicit recordings are generally not admissible as evidence, but may be used in California where extortion is threatened. Howard Weitzman turned over the tapes to the district attorney's office.[114]

On December 17, 1993, Rothman allowed the prosecutors to receive information from Jackson's lawyers and approved discovery information for media disclosure. Both Feldman's and Jackson's camps expressed concerns about Jackson's right to a fair trial being compromised by publicly discussing discovery results. Johnnie Cochran and Howard Weitzman, attorneys representing Jackson, argued that investigators were trying to use the suit to advance their criminal investigation, a technique that should not be allowed.[17]

On January 24, 1994, prosecutors announced that they would not bring charges against Chandler for attempted extortion, as Jackson's camp had been slow to report an extortion claim to the police and had tried to negotiate a settlement for several weeks.[47] Chandler had made his settlement demand in early August 1993, and the Jackson camp had filed extortion charges against the Chandler camp in late August.[115] In the extortion investigation, a search warrant was never sought to search the homes and offices of Chandler and Barry Rothman. No grand jury convened when both men refused police interviews.[116] In contrast, the police had searched Jackson's residences solely based on Jordan's allegations,[117][118] and taken lengths to interview or intimidate witnesses.[40][34] Weitzman said they had not gone to the police earlier because "It was our hope that this would all go away. We tried to keep it as much in-house as we could."[119]

Settlement

Jackson's legal team met three times a week at Taylor's home to discuss the case.[86] Eventually, they agreed that Jackson was too sick to endure a lengthy trial and that he should settle out of court.[89] The lawsuit was settled on January 25, 1994, with $15,331,250 to be held in a trust fund for Jordan, $1.5 million for each of his parents, and $5 million for the family's lawyer, for a total of approximately $23 million.[120] According to a motion passed to Judge Melville in 2004, "the settlement was for global claims of negligence and the lawsuit was defended by Mr. Jackson's insurance carrier. The [carrier] negotiated and paid the settlement, over the protests of Mr. Jackson and his personal legal counsel."[121]

On January 29, 1994, the Associated Press reported that Jackson had requested his insurance company, Transamerica Insurance Group (TIG), contribute to the settlement. A lawyer for TIG, Jordan Harriman, had made a "one-time-only" offer to Jackson on January 13 to resolve his claim. Jackson refused that offer but further negotiations followed. Russ Wardrip, a TIG claims analyst, had sent a January 13 registered letter to Jackson's lawyer, Howard Weitzman:[122][123]

...acts of sexual activity do not constitute [accidental] bodily injury. Further, acts of sexual activity, especially those against a minor, are inherently intentional, wrongful and harmful. Coverage for such acts is precluded by [the] California Insurance Code.

According to Jackson's attorney Thomas Mesereau, Jackson's insurance company was "the source of the settlement amounts", as noted in a 2005 memorandum in People v. Jackson. The memorandum also noted that "an insurance carrier has the right to settle claims covered by insurance where it decides settlement is expedient and the insured may not interfere with nor prevent such settlements", as established by a number of precedents in California.[124] Defeating the right would involve convincing a court with the power to overrule the precedent that the earlier decision was either wrongly decided or more often, "clearly" wrong (depending on the criteria of the court)[125] or the court must be convinced to distinguish the case. That is, to make the ruling narrower than that in the precedent due to some difference in facts between the current and precedent case while supporting the result reached in the earlier case.[126]

In 2004, Mesereau said: "People who intended to earn millions of dollars from [Jackson's] record and music promotions did not want negative publicity from these lawsuits interfering with their profits. Michael Jackson now regrets making these payments. These settlements were entered into with one primary condition – that condition was that Mr. Jackson never admitted any wrongdoing. [He] always denied doing anything wrong ... Mr. Jackson now realizes the advice he received was wrong."[127] Jackson explained why he had settled: "I wanted to go on with my life. Too many people had already been hurt. I want to make records. I want to sing. I want to perform again ... It's my talent. My hard work. My life. My decision."[110] He also wanted to avoid a "media circus".[128] Mesereau later said Jackson regretted settling.[129]

The settlement cannot be used as evidence of guilt in future civil and criminal cases.[130] In 1994, Larry Feldman said "nobody bought anybody's silence" with the civil settlement.[131] Bribery to not testify in a trial is a felony according to California Penal Code 138. Receiving such a bribe is also a felony according to this law.[132]

Closure of investigation

District Attorney Gil Garcetti said that the settlement did not affect criminal prosecution and that the investigation was ongoing.[133] Jordan Chandler was interviewed after the settlement by detectives seeking evidence of child molestation, but no criminal charges were filed.[134] On May 2, 1994, the Santa Barbara County grand jury disbanded without indicting Jackson, while a Los Angeles County grand jury continued to investigate the sexual abuse allegations.[135][136]

On April 11, 1994, the grand jury session in Santa Barbara was extended by 90 days, allowing DA Sneddon to gather more evidence. Prosecution sources said they were frustrated in their grand jury probe, failing to find direct evidence of the molestation charges.[137] The final grand jury disbanded in July without returning an indictment against Jackson.[138]

The Chandlers stopped co-operating with the criminal investigation around July 6, 1994.[139] Until that time, Jordan Chandler had indicated his possible willingness to testify according to prosecutors.[140] The police never pressed criminal charges.[128] Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan's testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.[141] District attorney Sneddon and Lauren Weis, head of the county DA's Sex Crimes Unit, said that ending the investigation did not reflect any lack of faith in the alleged victims' credibility. The entire investigation involved two grand juries and more than 400 people interviewed over a period of 13 months.[29][107]

Sneddon said several leads were explored which were later discovered to be false.[142] According to the grand juries, the evidence presented by the Santa Barbara police and the LAPD was not convincing enough to indict Jackson or subpoena him,[135] even though grand juries can indict the accused purely on hearsay evidence.[143] According to a 1994 report by Variety, a source in contact with the grand juries said that none of the witnesses had produced anything to directly implicate Jackson.[113] According to a 1994 report by Showbiz Today, the grand jurors claimed that "no damaging evidence was heard" and they "did not hear any damaging testimony" during the hearings.[135]

In February 1994, the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury convened to assess whether criminal charges should be filed. The Los Angeles County Grand Jury began in March 1994.[29] By 1994 prosecution departments in California had spent $2 million and convened two grand juries, but Jordan Chandler's allegations could not be corroborated.[110] In September, Sneddon and Garcetti admitted the 18-month investigation had produced no evidence against Jackson.[144] The FBI files on Michael Jackson, released after Jackson's death, also noted that the prosecution had no outstanding leads.[145]

Aftermath

A week after the settlement in January 1994, L.A. District Attorney Garcetti announced that he supported amending a law that prohibited sexual assault victims from being compelled to testify in criminal proceedings.[146] The amendment, introduced into the state assembly in February, would have immediately allowed Garcetti to compel Jordan Chandler's testimony.[147]

On February 15, 1994, PBS Frontline aired the documentary Tabloid Truth: The Michael Jackson Story about the tabloid sensationalism, more preoccupied with selling papers than reporting an accurate narrative of the scandal. The documentary reported Jackson's housekeepers Mark and Faye Quindoy selling stories about Jackson for money, and bargaining for more money regarding child abuse allegations. They were depicted as untrustworthy. Phillip and Stella LeMarque, another pair of former employees to Jackson, sold a child abuse story to tabloids through pornographic film actor Paul Barresi, who once successfully sold a story to the National Enquirer. At the opportunity of the scandal, Barresi made a taped recording of alleged evidence and told the Globe that he intended to turn it over to the district attorney. The Globe and Barresi agreed on $15,000 for his story. Splash News journalist Kevin Smith said, "A lot of people who claimed to have witnessed Jackson doing this, that or the other—they weren't going to the police first. Their main interest was money, and they would come to journalists who could give them money. So in those circumstances, journalists know more about what happened than the police do."[148][149]

Three years later, Victor M. Gutierrez self-published a book on the relationship between Jordan Chandler and Jackson. Gutierrez claimed that the book is based on a diary Jordan had kept at the time and included details of alleged sexual encounters with Jackson.[21][150] According to German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, Gutierrez attended meetings of North American Man Boy Love Association (NAMBLA), a group advocating the decriminalization of pedophilia and pederasty, as a reporter in the 1980s. He said the group thought of Jackson as "one of us" and they insisted that the relationship between Jordan and Jackson was romantic.[150]

In 1997, Jackson filed a civil suit against Gutierrez for slander after the writer claimed that he had a tape of Jackson molesting his nephew Jeremy, son of Jermaine Jackson. The jury ruled in Jackson's favor, awarding him $2.7 million. Gutierrez fled to Chile after the suit.[150] Jackson's attorney Zia Modabber said, "Jurors told us that they not only wanted to compensate Mr. Jackson and punish Victor Gutierrez, but to send a message that they are tired of tabloids lying about celebrities for money."[151][152] Jackson also filed a $100 million lawsuit against Diane Dimond after she appeared on KABC morning show Ken and Barkley to discuss Gutierrez's alleged tape. After the report was broadcast, Jackson announced he would sue members of the media who "spread vicious lies and rumors about me in their attempts to make money, benefit their careers, sell papers or get viewers to watch their programs." It was dismissed in 1997.[153][154]

Jordan legally emancipated himself from his parents in 1994, at age 14.[155] In 1996, Evan Chandler sued Jackson for around $60 million, claiming Jackson had breached an agreement never to discuss the case. In 1999, a court ruled in Jackson's favor and threw out the lawsuit.[21] In 2006, Jordan accused his father of attacking him with a barbell, choking him and spraying his face with mace. The charges were dropped.[156] On November 5, 2009, fourteen weeks after Jackson's death, Evan Chandler was found dead from suicide.[157]

Effect on Jackson's career

Jackson's commercial standing and public image declined in the wake of the allegations. The government of Dubai forbade him from performing in response to an anonymous pamphlet campaign that attacked him as immoral.[158] Jackson backed out of a deal to create a song and video for the film Addams Family Values, returning an estimated $5 million,[159] and a brand of fragrances was canceled because of Jackson's drug problems.[160] Jackson completed the video once planned for Addams Family Values and released it as Ghosts in 1996, with a framing story about an eccentric maestro who entertains children and is pursued by a bigoted local official.[161] On November 14, 1993, PepsiCo dropped their nine-year partnership with Jackson, causing some fans to boycott the company.[88][158] According to conflicting sources, Jackson agreed to compose music for the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but left the project and was uncredited, possibly due to the allegations.[162]

Jackson produced a special show for the premium cable network HBO, For One Night Only, to be recorded in front of a special invited audience at New York City's Beacon Theatre for broadcast in December 1995. The shows were canceled after Jackson collapsed at the theater on December 6 during rehearsals. Jackson was admitted overnight to Beth Israel Medical Center North. The shows were never rescheduled. The following year, Jackson began the HIStory World Tour. The only concerts in the USA were two shows at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii.[163]

Jackson's album HIStory, released shortly after the allegations, "creates an atmosphere of paranoia," according to critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine. Its content focuses on the public struggles Jackson went through prior to its production. In the songs "Scream", "Tabloid Junkie", and "You Are Not Alone", Jackson expresses his anger and hurt at the media. In the ballad "Stranger in Moscow", he laments his "swift and sudden fall from grace".[164][165] In "D.S.", he attacks a character identified as Tom Sneddon, the District Attorney who requested his strip search. Jackson describes the person as a white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Sneddon said: "I have not, shall we say, done him the honor of listening to it, but I've been told that it ends with the sound of a gunshot."[166]

According to The Washington Post, the O.J. Simpson trial overshadowed Jackson's scandal. A source from the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office said the scandal took "a back seat" once the Simpson case emerged. Scriptwriter Alison Taylor said that "O.J. Simpson is the best thing that ever happened to Michael Jackson".[53] A judge observed in 2021 that "the fact that [Jackson] earned not a penny from his image and likeness in 2006, 2007, or 2008 shows the effect those allegations had, and continued to have, until his death".[167]

Further allegations

On December 18, 2003, Jackson was charged with seven counts of child sexual abuse and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to commit a child sexual abuse felony against Gavin Arvizo.[168] Jackson denied the allegations. Sneddon again led the prosecution.[169]

The People v. Jackson trial began in Santa Maria, California, on January 31, 2005.[170] The judge allowed testimony about past allegations, including the 1993 case, to establish whether the defendant had a propensity to commit certain crimes.[128][171] However, Jordan Chandler left the country to avoid testifying. Mesereau later said: "The prosecutors tried to get [Chandler] to show up and he wouldn't. If he had, I had witnesses who were going to come in and say he told them it never happened and that he would never talk to his parents again for what they made him say."[155]

June Chandler testified that she had not spoken to her son in 11 years. During her testimony, she claimed that she could not remember being counter-sued by Jackson and that she had never heard of her own attorney. She also said she never witnessed any molestation. Jackson was found not guilty of all 14 charges on June 13, 2005.[155]

In 2013, Wade Robson, who testified in Jackson's defense, reversed his position and filed a lawsuit against Jackson's estate,[172] saying Jackson had sexually abused him when Robson was aged between seven and 14.[173] The allegations by Robson and another man, James Safechuck, are the focus of the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland.[173]

Notes

  1. ^ The lawsuit is distinguished from the criminal investigation, which happened simultaneously. The ending of a lawsuit does not preclude the continuation of an investigation.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "The Unsolved Controversies of Michael Jackson". Consequence of Sound. April 28, 2017. from the original on April 28, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c Wilson, Jeff (August 27, 1993). "Case Files: Boy Says Jackson Molested Him". APnews.com. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  3. ^ Sullivan, Randall (2012). "South". Untouchable: The Strange Life & Tragic Death of Michael Jackson. ISBN 978-0-8021-4582-6. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Campbell, p. 50
  5. ^ a b Fischer, p. 217
  6. ^ Fischer, pp. 217-218
  7. ^ McGovern, Kyle (February 28, 2019). "A Complete Timeline of the Michael Jackson Abuse Allegations". Vulture.
  8. ^ Whitefoot, John (June 25, 2018). . Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  9. ^ Taraborrelli, p. 485–486
  10. ^ a b c Campbell, p. 53
  11. ^ Taraborrelli, p. 496–498
  12. ^ "Police Say Seized Tapes Do Not Incriminate Jackson : Investigation: Officials continue to interview children in connection with molestation allegations". Articles.latimes.com. August 27, 1993. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  13. ^ Fischer, p. 266
  14. ^ Sullivan, Randall (2012). "South". Untouchable: The Strange Life & Tragic Death of Michael Jackson. ISBN 978-0-8021-4582-6. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  15. ^ Knopper, Steve (2015). MJ: The Genius of Michael Jackson. Scribner. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-1-4767-3038-7. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
  16. ^ Fischer, p. 220
  17. ^ a b "Judge Gives Prosecutors Access to Information in Jackson Civil Suit : Courts: Jurist also refuses to restrict attorneys' remarks to the media. Lawyers agree on subjects they won't discuss". Los Angeles Times. December 18, 1993. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  18. ^ Taraborrelli, J. Randy (2009). "Jordie Sees a Psychiatrist". Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story. ISBN 9780446565684. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  19. ^ Wallace, Amy; Nazaria, Sonia (August 26, 1993). "International Furor Stirred by Allegations on Jackson : Inquiry: Police focus on entertainer's contact with at least 4 boys, source says. No charges have been filed". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 18, 2014.
  20. ^ Sullivan, Randall (2012). "South". Untouchable: The Strange Life & Tragic Death of Michael Jackson. ISBN 978-0-8021-4582-6. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  21. ^ a b c d e "1993: Michael Jackson accused of child abuse". BBC. February 8, 2003. Retrieved November 11, 2006.
  22. ^ a b c d Campbell, p. 42–45
  23. ^ Campbell, p. 167
  24. ^ a b c d Taraborrelli, p. 500–507
  25. ^ Campbell, pp. 57–59
  26. ^ Newton, Jim; Nazario, Sonia (August 27, 1993). "Investigation: Officials continue to interview children". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 15, 2019.
  27. ^ Sandler, Adam (September 3, 1993). "Lawyer Allred calls for 'truth' in Jackson story". Variety. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  28. ^ Newton, Jim (September 11, 1993). "Allred Says She's Off Jackson Case". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  29. ^ a b c Newton, Jim (September 22, 1994). "Jackson Not Charged but Not Absolved". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
  30. ^ Morewitz, Stephen J.; Goldstein, Mark L., eds. (2013). Handbook of Forensic Sociology & Psychology. Springer. p. 323. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-7178-3_23. ISBN 978-1-4614-7177-6. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  31. ^ Halperin, Ian (2009). Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson. pp. 48, 313. ISBN 978-1-4391-7717-4. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  32. ^ Borsboom, Jos (2011). "Kids & Allegations". Michael Jackson: The Icon. ISBN 978-1-4475-1692-7. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  33. ^ Campbell, pp. 44–93
  34. ^ a b c d Fischer, p. 267
  35. ^ "Tapes Used to Allege Plot to Extort Jackson Released : Inquiry: Singer's aides provide purported comments by boy's father, who has told friends allegations are untrue". Los Angeles Times. August 31, 1993.
  36. ^ "TAPE AIRED TO BACK CLAIMS OF EXTORTION ATTEMPT". Deseret News. Associated Press. September 2, 1993. Retrieved February 17, 2020.
  37. ^ Taraborrelli, J. Randy (2009). "The Secret Tape Recording". Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story. ISBN 9780446565684. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  38. ^ White, Adam (March 8, 2019). "The tragedy of Michael Jackson's 'lost boy': Whatever happened to Jordan Chandler?". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  39. ^ a b "Investigator, Lawyer Quit Jackson's Defense Team". Los Angeles Times. December 22, 1993. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  40. ^ a b Newton, Jim (November 17, 1993). "Jackson's Lawyers Attack LAPD Investigation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  41. ^ "Jackson's Ex-Staff Questioned". Los Angeles Times. September 23, 1993. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  42. ^ Campbell, p. 113–115
  43. ^ "Jackson back, maid says she quit in 'disgust'". The Baltimore Sun. December 14, 1993. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  44. ^ Dimond, Diane (2005). Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case. pp. 121–122. ISBN 978-0-743-27092-2. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  45. ^ "Michael Jackson's guards say they've been threatened" (TIFF). Santa Cruz Sentinel. Vol. 136, no. 331. Associated Press. December 3, 1993. Retrieved June 8, 2019.
  46. ^ a b c Campbell, pp. 47–50
  47. ^ a b Newton, Jim (January 25, 1994). "Boy's Father in Jackson Case Won't Be Charged : Investigation: Singer claimed parent of alleged molestation victim tried to extort money from him. D.A. says the decision not to prosecute is unrelated to reports that settlement is near". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  48. ^ a b c d Fischer, p. 221
  49. ^ Dimond, Diane (2005). Be Careful Who You Love: Inside the Michael Jackson Case. pp. 61–62. ISBN 978-0-7432-7092-2. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  50. ^ Fischer, p. 265
  51. ^ "Michael Jackson Gives First Live Interview to Oprah Winfrey". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. February 8, 1993. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  52. ^ Campbell, pp. 16–17
  53. ^ a b Brockell, Gillian (March 3, 2019). "The Michael Jackson denial of child sexual abuse carried live around the world". The Washington Post.
  54. ^ "Michael Jackson sings of D.A. on previous album". CNN. November 20, 2003. from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  55. ^ Campbell, p. 141
  56. ^ a b c Taraborrelli, pp. 534–540
  57. ^ "Police photographs may save Jackson". The Herald (Glasgow). Caledonian Newspapers Ltd. January 28, 1994. Retrieved June 27, 2019 – via JLAforums.com.
  58. ^ Campbell, p. 173
  59. ^ "Photos may contradict Michael's accuser". Life. USA Today. January 28, 1994. 02-D. ISSN 0734-7456. Retrieved June 27, 2019 – via JLAforums.com.
  60. ^ "New look at dark accusations". nbcnews.com. February 17, 2003. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  61. ^ Halperin, Ian (July 14, 2009). Unmasked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781439177198 – via Google Books.
  62. ^ Ebert, John David (April 18, 2019). Dead Celebrities, Living Icons: Tragedy and Fame in the Age of the Multimedia Superstar. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313377648 – via Google Books.
  63. ^ Newton, Jim (March 16, 1994). "Grand Jury Calls Michael Jackson's Mother to Testify". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  64. ^ Ferguson, Lee (July 29, 2009). "An interview with Jackson biographer Ian Halperin". CBC News. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  65. ^ [1] Michael Jackson's autopsy
  66. ^ "Boy's Lawyer Seeks Photos of Michael Jackson's Body". Los Angeles Times. January 5, 1994. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  67. ^ Sandler, Adam (February 11, 1994). "Jackson VP testifies; prosecutors keep photos". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  68. ^ Campbell, Lisa D. (1994). Michael Jackson: The King of Pop's Darkest Hour. ISBN 9780828320030.
  69. ^ Campbell, p. 128
  70. ^ Newton, Jim (December 9, 1993). "Sister Says She Believes He Is a Molester: 'This has been going on since 1981, and it's not just one child,' LaToya tells reporters in Tel Aviv". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  71. ^ "La Toya: Charges Are True: Family Says Jackson Never Molested Kids". The Washington Post. December 9, 1993. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  72. ^ "Latoya's views leave Gumbel 'Speechless'". United Press International (UPI). December 10, 1993. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  73. ^ Tsioulcas, Anastasia (March 5, 2019). "Jackson: A Quarter-Century Of Sexual Abuse Allegations". NPR. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  74. ^ Borsboom, Jos (2011). "Kids & Allegations". Michael Jackson: The Icon. ISBN 978-1-4475-1692-7. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  75. ^ Taraborrelli, p. 539
  76. ^ "CNN.com - Transcripts". Transcripts.cnn.com. March 4, 2003.
  77. ^ La Toya Jackson (March 14, 2019). "La Toya Jackson on Twitter". Twitter.com.
  78. ^ Campbell, p. 29
  79. ^ "La Toya Jackson: Life After Michael's Death". ABC News.
  80. ^ Cadman, Chris (2015). "Lisa Marie Presley". Michael Jackson: The Maestro, Definitive A-Z Volume II - K-Z. ISBN 978-0-7552-1609-3. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  81. ^ Gliatto, Tom (August 15, 1994). "Neverland Meets Graceland". People. from the original on March 29, 2011. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  82. ^ a b Taraborrelli, pp. 518–520
  83. ^ Taraborrelli, p. 510
  84. ^ Taraborrelli, pp. 580–581
  85. ^ a b c . DeseretNews.com. November 16, 1993. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  86. ^ a b Taraborrelli, p. 514–516
  87. ^ Vieira, Meredith (September 25, 2009). "The Michael Jackson Tapes". Dateline MSNBC. Retrieved January 13, 2011.
  88. ^ a b Campbell, pp. 96–97
  89. ^ a b c Taraborrelli, pp. 524–528
  90. ^ a b Campbell, pp. 89–93
  91. ^ Newton, Jim; Hall, Carla (November 16, 1993). "Jackson 'Barely Able to Function,' His Lawyer Says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 23, 2019.
  92. ^ Rothstein, Katie (February 28, 2019). "Every Time Michael Jackson Addressed Sexual-Abuse Allegations on the Record". Vulture.
  93. ^ Pareles, Jon (June 18, 1995). "POP VIEW; Michael Jackson Is Angry, Understand?". The New York Times. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
  94. ^ Leonardi, Marisa (January 7, 1994). "Jackson gets cheers in a show marked by controversy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  95. ^ Thomson, Charles (March 2, 2010). "Michael Jackson: It's Time for Outlets to Take Responsibility in Covering the Rock Star". The Huffington Post. from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  96. ^ a b Campbell, p. 77–80
  97. ^ Campbell, p. 71–73
  98. ^ Kurtz, Howard (September 1, 1993). "MALICE IN NEVERLAND? THE MICHAEL JACKSON STORY" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  99. ^ Brewin, Warren (September 30, 2018). The Truth Is What You Believe. Balboa Press. ISBN 9781504397544 – via Google Books.
  100. ^ EST, Newsweek Staff On 11/28/93 at 7:00 PM (November 28, 1993). "Transatlantic Hide-And-Seek". Newsweek.
  101. ^ Campbell, p. 104–106
  102. ^ Campbell, p. 140–143
  103. ^ "The True Story Behind the Child Abuse Allegations That Cost Michael Jackson over $20 Million". December 8, 2017.
  104. ^ Alter, Jonathan. . baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on June 22, 2021. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  105. ^ Nazario, Sonia (November 15, 1993). "Jackson Sued by Boy Who Alleged Sexual Molestation". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  106. ^ "Jackson's Accuser Details Sexual Allegations". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 11, 1994. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  107. ^ a b c Crosby, Jessica (November 8, 1993). "While Jakson tours, the lawyers war". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  108. ^ Philips, Chuck; Newton, Jim (November 13, 1993). "Jackson Reportedly Cancels Rest of World Tour". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  109. ^ "Bill of Right Transcript". Bill of Rights. National Archives and Records Administration. from the original on February 8, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  110. ^ a b c Taraborrelli, p. 540–545
  111. ^ "Reasons for Double Jeopardy Protection". Findlaw. Retrieved January 27, 2011.
  112. ^ Newton, Jim (December 4, 1993). "Jackson to Give Deposition About Allegations Lawsuit: The singer has agreed to tell his side Jan. 18. Postponement is possible if the status of criminal investigation changes, his lawyer says". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  113. ^ a b Sandler, Adam (November 23, 1993). "Jackson told to cooperate in civil trial". Variety. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  114. ^ "Jackson Aides Go Back on the Offensive". Los Angeles Times. September 2, 1993. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  115. ^ "Tapes Used to Allege Plot to Extort Jackson Released : Inquiry: Singer's aides provide purported comments by boy's father, who has told friends allegations are untrue". Los Angeles Times. August 31, 1993. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  116. ^ Fischer, p. 268
  117. ^ Campbell, pp. 44–45
  118. ^ Fischer, pp. 266–267
  119. ^ "Family & fans support Michael Jackson in child abuse investigation". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. September 13, 1993. p. 59. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  120. ^ "CNN.com - Jackson settlement from 1993 allegations topped $20 million - Jun 16, 2004". www.cnn.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  121. ^ SBSC Public Access , accessed March 6, 2012.
  122. ^ "Jackson 'sought insurance help to pay boy'". New Straits Times. Associated Press. January 30, 1994. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  123. ^ "Report says Jackson wanted insurance to pay teen accuser" (TIFF). Santa Cruz Sentinel. Vol. 137, no. 28. Associated Press. January 29, 1994. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  124. ^ Mesereau et al., pp. 2–4
  125. ^ "Precedent and Analogy in Legal Reasoning: 2. Precedent". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. June 20, 2006. "The lower court is ‘strictly’ bound because it has no power to overrule the higher court's decision. Equally, most appeal courts are bound by their own earlier decisions, though they are generally entitled in certain circumstances to overrule those decisions. There is enormous variation in the circumstances that are necessary for a court to overrule one of its own decisions: at a minimum, it must regard the earlier decision as wrongly decided, but generally, more is required than this, e.g. that the decision is ‘clearly’ or ‘plainly’ wrong. Finally, courts are generally not bound by the decisions of lower courts"
  126. ^ "Precedent and Analogy in Legal Reasoning: 2.1 Precedents as laying down rules: 2.1.2 The practice of distinguishing". Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. June 20, 2006.
  127. ^ . Articles.cnn.com. September 17, 2004. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  128. ^ a b c "Jackson's 'past' allowed in court". BBC. March 25, 2005. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  129. ^ . CNN. September 17, 2004. Archived from the original on October 5, 2012. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  130. ^ Mesereau et al., pp. 2–12
  131. ^ Newton, Jim (February 5, 1994). "Grand Jury to convene in Jackson Case Law: Sources close to the investigation say a panel in Santa Barbara will hear testimony next week about alleged molestation of boy". Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  132. ^ "California Penal Code Section 138 - California Attorney Resources - California Laws". law.onecle.com. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  133. ^ Weinraub, Bernard. "Michael Jackson Settles Suit For Sum Said to Be in Millions." The New York Times. January 26, 1994.
  134. ^ Mesereau et al., p. 9
  135. ^ a b c . MJEOL. May 3, 1994. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015. Transcript of report by anchor Jim Moret (May 2, 1994) Showbiz Today.
  136. ^ "Jackson Case". The Independent. London. May 2, 1994. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  137. ^ Sandler, Adam (April 12, 1994). "D.A. Garcetti denies Jackson probe ended". Variety. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  138. ^ Meyer, Josh (July 7, 1994). "Jackson & Arson Cases in Limbo: Investigations: Grand jury disbanded without bringing indictments against either the pop superstar or two firefighters". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  139. ^ . December 25, 2005. Archived from the original on December 25, 2005. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  140. ^ JACKSON THANKFUL PROBE IS OVER
  141. ^ Mydans, Seth (September 22, 1994). "No Charges for Now Against Michael Jackson". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  142. ^ JACKSON CASE DROPPED
  143. ^ . Justice.gov. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  144. ^ McDonell-Parry, Amelia (January 29, 2019). "Michael Jackson Child Sexual Abuse Allegations: A Timeline". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  145. ^ FBI Records: The Vault — Michael Jackson. Part 3, Page 56
  146. ^ Campbell, pp. 163–164
  147. ^ . USA Today. February 7, 1994. Archived from the original on May 7, 2011. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  148. ^ "Tabloid Truth: The Michael Jackson Story". FRONTLINE. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  149. ^ Tabloid Truth: The Michael Jackson Story (video) (film). PBS. February 15, 1994. Archived from the original on November 17, 2021.
  150. ^ a b c KOBER, HENNING (April 5, 2005). "Es war Liebe!". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). p. 13. ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  151. ^ Tribune, Chicago. "MICHAEL JACKSON WINS $2.7 MILLION SUIT AGAINST WRITER". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  152. ^ Ryan, Joel (April 10, 1998). . Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved November 18, 2009.
  153. ^ Sandler, Adam (May 5, 1997). "Jackson's 'Hard Copy' suit dismissed". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  154. ^ "Michael Jackson Sues 'Hard Copy' Reporter and Radio Talk Show". Los Angeles Times. January 13, 1995. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved June 22, 2019.
  155. ^ a b c Thomson, Charles (June 13, 2010). "One of the Most Shameful Episodes In Journalistic History". The Huffington Post. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  156. ^ Hutchinson, Bill (November 18, 2009). "Evan Chandler, dad of boy who accused Michael Jackson of molestation, commits suicide in New Jersey". NYDailyNews.com. New York. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
  157. ^ Allen, Nick (November 17, 2009). "Michael Jackson: father of Jordan Chandler shoots himself dead". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  158. ^ a b Robinson, Eugene (November 15, 1993). "Pepsi Drops Elusive Michael Jackson". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  159. ^ Weinraub, Bernard (November 16, 1993). "Jackson Being Treated Abroad For Addiction, Lawyer Says". The New York Times.
  160. ^ Campbell, p. 148–149
  161. ^ Lewis p. 125–126
  162. ^ Van Luling, Todd (January 25, 2016). "The Michael Jackson Video Game Conspiracy". HuffPost. Retrieved June 15, 2017.
  163. ^ Lewis, p. 95
  164. ^ Erlewine, Stephen. "Michael Jackson HIStory Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
  165. ^ Hunter, James (August 10, 1995). . Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 22, 2008. Retrieved June 15, 2008.
  166. ^ . ndaa.org. Archived from the original on January 2, 2008. Retrieved July 12, 2008.
  167. ^ "After years, court hands tax win to Michael Jackson heirs". The Independent. May 5, 2021. Archived from the original on May 1, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  168. ^ . CNN. December 18, 2003. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  169. ^ "Who Is Tom Sneddon?". CBS. December 17, 2003. from the original on May 20, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
  170. ^ Broder, John M.; LeDuff, Charlie (February 1, 2005). "Jackson Trial Starts, With Fanfare and Jury Selection". The New York Times. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  171. ^ "Jackson defense loses bid to ban past allegations". CNN. March 29, 2005. Retrieved May 1, 2011.
  172. ^ Duke, Alan (May 8, 2013). "Michael Jackson defender files sex abuse claim". CNN. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  173. ^ a b Press, Australian Associated (February 28, 2019). "Australian choreographer tells of sexual abuse in Michael Jackson documentary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 1, 2019.

Works cited

  • Campbell, Lisa D. (September 1994). Michael Jackson: The King of Pops Darkest Hour. Branden Books. ISBN 978-0-8283-2003-0. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  • Fischer, Mary A. (October 1994). "Did Michael do it? / Was Michael Jackson Framed? The Untold Story". GQ. 64 (10): 214, 216–221, 265–269.
  • George, Nelson (2004). Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection booklet. Sony BMG.
  • Jones, Aphrodite; Tom Mesereau (June 1, 2007). Michael Jackson Conspiracy. iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-9795498-0-9. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  • Lewis (Jones), Jel D. (June 1, 2005). Michael Jackson, the king of pop: the big picture : the music! the man! the legend! the interviews : an anthology. Amber Communications Group, Inc. ISBN 978-0-9749779-0-4. Retrieved September 22, 2011.
  • Mesereau, Thomas A.; Sanger, Robert M.; Oxman, Brian (March 22, 2005). (PDF). Superior Court of California, County of Santa Barbara. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2012. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  • Taraborrelli, J. Randy (June 4, 2004). Michael Jackson: the magic and the madness. Grand Central Publishing. ISBN 978-0-330-42005-1. Retrieved September 22, 2011.

1993, child, sexual, abuse, accusations, against, michael, jackson, 1993, evan, chandler, dentist, screenwriter, based, angeles, accused, american, singer, michael, jackson, sexually, abusing, chandler, year, jordan, jackson, befriended, jordan, after, renting. In 1993 Evan Chandler a dentist and screenwriter based in Los Angeles accused the American singer Michael Jackson of sexually abusing Chandler s 13 year old son Jordan Jackson had befriended Jordan after renting a vehicle from Jordan s stepfather Though Evan Chandler initially encouraged the friendship he later confronted his ex wife who had custody of Jordan with suspicions that the relationship was inappropriate Chandler wanted to resolve the issue with a financial settlement but he and Jackson could not agree on an amount In July Jordan told a psychiatrist and police that Jackson had sexually abused him triggering an investigation Some of Jackson s staff reported inappropriate behavior but the police dismissed their accounts as not credible as they had sold their stories to tabloids or had grievances against Jackson Jackson s legal team maintained that Chandler was attempting to extort Jackson citing a phone recording in which he said he was going to humiliate Jackson and win big time In August 1993 as the third leg of Jackson s Dangerous World Tour began news of the allegations broke and received worldwide media attention Jackson canceled the remainder of the tour citing health problems arising from the scandal That September the Chandlers filed a lawsuit against Jackson They and Jackson reached a financial settlement in January 1994 Jackson and his legal team stressed that this was not an admission of guilt The investigation found no physical evidence against Jackson In September 1994 the investigation was closed after the Chandlers declined to cooperate leaving the case without its main witness The allegations affected Jackson s public image and commercial standing Several of his endorsement deals were canceled including his decade long Pepsi endorsement Further allegations of abuse by Jackson led to the People v Jackson trial in 2005 in which Jackson was found not guilty on all charges In November 2009 five months after Jackson s death Evan Chandler died by suicide following several years of depression and estrangement from his family Contents 1 Background 2 Allegations 3 Investigation 3 1 Testimony from staff and other children 3 2 Investigation into Chandler 3 3 Use of sedatives 3 4 Strip search 4 Allegations by La Toya Jackson 5 Lisa Marie Presley 6 Jackson s health 7 Jackson s response 8 Media reaction 9 Lawsuit 9 1 Settlement 10 Closure of investigation 11 Aftermath 11 1 Effect on Jackson s career 11 2 Further allegations 12 Notes 13 References 14 Works citedBackground Edit Jackson s Neverland Ranch home where the sexual abuse was alleged to have taken placeAccording to Consequence of Sound in 1993 the American pop star Michael Jackson was the most popular musician in the world 1 That February 2 Jackson s car broke down and was towed to a local garage Rent A Wreck 1 The Rent A Wreck owner David Schwartz called his wife June Chandler Schwartz to meet Jackson She brought her son from a previous marriage Jordan Chandler 1 Jordan s father Evan Chandler was a dentist who treated Hollywood celebrities He was also a screenwriter who co wrote the 1993 comedy Robin Hood Men In Tights 1 Jackson and Jordan became close the National Enquirer ran a featured story titled Michael s New Adopted Family implying that Jackson had stolen Jordan from Evan Jackson invited Jordan his stepsister and his mother to visit his home Neverland Ranch on the weekends They would also take trips to Las Vegas and Florida 3 These trips interfered with Jordan s scheduled visits with Evan with Jordan preferring to visit Neverland Ranch 4 In May Evan encouraged Jackson to spend more time with Jordan Evan suggested that Jackson should build an extension onto Jackson s house when they were denied planning permission Chandler suggested Jackson buy him a house In the same month Jordan and June flew with Jackson to Monaco for the World Music Awards 5 4 According to June s lawyer Michael Freeman Evan was jealous and felt left out Upon their return Jackson stayed in the Schwartz Chandler home for five days Jackson slept in a room with Jordan and his stepbrother 5 Chandler said this is when he became suspicious of sexual misconduct by Jackson although he said that Jackson and Jordan were clothed when he saw them in bed together and never claimed to have witnessed sexual misconduct 6 Jordan and Jackson s contact ended in June 1993 2 Allegations EditOn July 8 1993 Schwartz phoned Evan to discuss Jordan s relationship with Jackson Unbeknownst to Evan Schwartz recorded the phone call 7 Chandler was hostile about Jackson describing him as evil 1 He said he had hired the nastiest son of a bitch he could find the lawyer Barry Rothman to humiliate Jackson and said 1 Once I make that phone call this guy is going to destroy everybody in sight in any devious nasty cruel way that he can do it I ve given him full authority to do that If I go through with this I win big time There s no way I lose I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever Michael s career will be over This man is going to be humiliated beyond belief He will not believe what is going to happen to him beyond his worst nightmares He will not sell one more record When Schwartz asked how this would affect Jordan Chandler replied 1 8 That s irrelevant to me The bottom line is yes his mother is harming him and Michael is harming him I can prove that and I will prove that It cost me tens of thousands of dollars to get the information I got and you know I don t have that kind of money I m willing to go down financially In August Chandler extracted one of Jordan s teeth 9 While Jordan was under the effects of the sedative Evan asked him if Jackson had ever touched his penis Jordan said yes 1 Chandler and his legal team approached Jackson asking for 20 million threatening to take the dispute to a criminal court Jackson refused saying No way in hell A few weeks later Jackson s legal team made a counter offer of 1 million this was declined by Chandler who then requested 15 million Jackson refused and lowered his offer to 350 000 which Chandler also refused 10 11 According to some sources Evan unsuccessfully sought a 20 million film production deal with Jackson to avoid going to court 12 In October 1994 Mary A Fischer of GQ reported it was Chandler who initially accused Jackson of molesting his son before he demanded a screenwriting deal from Jackson instead of going to the police 13 On July 15 the child psychiatrist Mathis Abrams wrote to Rothman who was seeking an expert opinion to help establish the allegations against Jackson Abrams wrote that there was reasonable suspicion of sexual abuse without having met Evan or Jordan He also said that if this were not a hypothetical case he would be required by law to report the matter to the Los Angeles County Department of Children s Services 14 15 16 On August 17 Evan took Jordan to Abrams and told him Jordan had been molested 1 Over a three hour session Jordan told Abrams that Jackson had sexually abused him for months and gave graphic accounts of masturbation and oral sex 1 Jordan repeated these allegations to police and described Jackson s penis 17 10 18 According to the county s DCFS reports Jordan had difficulty remembering the times and dates of his alleged molestation but was consistent in his story 19 Investigation Edit Jackson during the Dangerous World Tour in 1993 On August 18 1993 the Los Angeles Police Department s Sexually Exploited Child Unit began a criminal investigation into Jackson June Chandler initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested her son however her position wavered a few days later 20 On August 21 a search warrant was issued allowing police to search Neverland Ranch Police questioned 30 children who were friends of Jackson all stated that he was not a child molester 21 22 Gary Hearne Jackson s chauffeur testified in his deposition to driving Jackson to Jordan s house at night and collecting him in the morning for a period of about thirty days 23 On August 24 the day the allegations were made public Jackson began the third leg of his Dangerous World Tour in Bangkok That day Anthony Pellicano a private detective hired by Jackson held a press conference accusing Chandler of trying to extort 20 million from Jackson He did not mention that Jackson had made several counter offers 21 22 The Jackson family also held a press conference saying it was their unequivocal belief that Michael was a victim of extortion 24 25 On August 26 Jackson s promoters released an audiotape of him apologizing to his fans for cancelling his second show in two days 26 On August 31 attorney Gloria Allred held a press conference stating she had been retained on behalf of the Chandlers and implied a civil suit against Jackson would be made 27 On September 10 Allred said that she was off the case declining further comment as to why 28 On September 13 the Chandlers hired Larry R Feldman former Los Angeles County Bar Association president 29 On October 6 1993 Jordan Chandler underwent a psychiatric interview with Dr Richard Gardner in New York Dr Gardner had formulated Parental Alienation Syndrome PAS in 1985 a disorder that arises primarily in the context of child custody disputes 30 Jordan gave his account of what allegedly happened between him and Jackson in May 1993 during their trip to Monaco for the World Music Awards 31 32 On November 8 police searched the Jackson family home Hayvenhurst 21 33 34 The Schwartzes gave the tape of Chandler s July conversation with Schwartz to the authorities who leaked it to the press 1 The recorded conversation was a critical aspect of Jackson s defense against the allegations made against him 35 36 Jackson and his supporters argued that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort Jackson 37 38 The tape was publicly released by Pellicano after edits had been made 39 Testimony from staff and other children Edit Brett Barnes aged 11 publicly said he had shared a bed with Jackson but insisted there was no sexual abuse I was on one side of the bed and he was on the other It was a big bed Wade Robson aged 10 told Fox Television that he too shared a bed with Jackson but that nothing sexual had happened 2 Several parents complained of aggressive investigative techniques by police they claimed the police frightened their children with lies such as we have nude photos of you 40 and told parents their children had been molested even though their children had denied it 34 In September 1993 police officers traveled to the Philippines to interview two of Jackson s ex housekeepers However the ex employees lacked credibility due to a back salary argument they had with Jackson 41 34 A former security guard made various allegations about Jackson saying he was fired because he knew too much and alleged that he was ordered by Jackson to destroy a photo of a naked boy Instead of reporting this alleged event to the police he sold the story to Hard Copy for 150 000 On December 13 1993 Jackson s maid Blanca Francia alleged that she quit in disgust after seeing Jackson in a shower with a child but did not inform the police Lisa D Campbell reported that Francia had been fired in 1991 and had sold her story to Hard Copy for 20 000 42 43 However when Diane Dimond interviewed Francia on the show she denied being fired but acknowledged being compensated by Hard Copy 44 On December 2 1993 attorney Charles Mathews held a press conference about his clients allegedly being threatened and harassed by Anthony Pellicano s machinations Mathews was representing Jackson s former security guards in a wrongful termination lawsuit filed on November 22 The lawsuit alleged wrongful termination due to firsthand personal knowledge of many of Michael Jackson s nighttime visits with young boys 45 Investigation into Chandler Edit The police also began an investigation into Evan Chandler for extortion finding that he was 68 400 behind in his child support payments despite being well paid as a dentist 46 Following a five month investigation deputy Los Angeles County District Attorney Michael Montagna released a public statement stating no charges had been brought against Chandler citing Jackson s lawyers failure to file for extortion in a timely manner and Jackson s willingness to negotiate with Chandler for several weeks Montagna explained that settlements were encouraged as they were favored by the law Montagna also said the discussions between Jackson s representatives and Barry K Rothman Chandler s attorney at that time appeared to have been attempts to settle a possible civil case not efforts to extort money 47 Use of sedatives Edit Chandler admitted he had used the sedative sodium amytal during Jordan s dental surgery during which Jordan said Jackson had touched his penis Sodium amytal is a barbiturate that puts people in a hypnotic state when injected intravenously Studies carried out in 1952 demonstrated that it enabled false memories to be implanted 48 1 According to Alison Winter a science historian at the University of Chicago these types of drug place people in a state of extreme suggestibility People will pick up on cues about what questioners want to hear and repeat that back 1 Mark Torbiner the dental anesthesiologist who administered the drug told GQ that if sodium amytal was used it was for dental purposes 48 According to Diane Dimond of the tabloid TV program Hard Copy Torbiner s records show that Robinul and Vistaril were administered instead of sodium amytal 49 The U S Drug Enforcement Administration was investigating Torbiner s administration of drugs during house calls where he mostly gave patients morphine and Demerol 48 Torbiner s credentials with the Board of Dental Examiners indicated that he was restricted by law to administering drugs solely for dental procedures but he had not adhered to those restrictions for example he had given general anesthetic to Barry Rothman during hair transplant procedures 50 Torbiner had introduced Chandler and Rothman in 1991 when Rothman needed dental work 48 Strip search Edit On February 10 1993 51 Jackson had revealed in a televised interview that he had vitiligo a skin disorder that destroys skin pigmentation and creates blotches The interview was watched by 90 million viewers and after it aired expert information on vitiligo was widely shared in the media 52 According to Pellicano Jordan Chandler said in July 1993 that Jackson did lift his shirt once to show the blotches on his skin 10 On December 20 1993 investigators for the Santa Barbara County Sheriff s Department and the LAPD issued Jackson with a warrant for a strip search as police wanted to verify Jordan s description of Jackson s private anatomy The officers photographed Jackson s entire body 53 54 The police were looking for discoloration any signs of vitiligo that Jordan had spoken about or any other skin disorder Refusal to comply would have been used in court as an indication of guilt 55 Those present for the prosecution were District Attorney Tom Sneddon a detective a photographer and a doctor Those present on behalf of Jackson were his two attorneys a physician a detective a bodyguard and a photographer The attorneys and Sneddon agreed to leave the room when the examination took place At Jackson s insistence the prosecution detective also left In an emotional state Jackson stood on a platform in the middle of the room and disrobed The search lasted for approximately 25 minutes He was never touched 56 On January 28 1994 Reuters and USA Today reported that an unidentified source had told that the pictures did not match Jordan s description 57 58 59 According to LAPD detective and pedophilia expert Bill Dworin who spoke to NBC News in February 2003 Jordan s description matched the photos of Jackson s genitalia Dworin did not believe that Jordan s accusations were coached 60 The DA and the sheriff s photographer stated that the description was accurate but the jurors felt that the photos did not match the description 61 62 In March 1994 Jackson s mother Katherine was called to testify in front of the LA County Grand Jury Investigators asked whether her son had altered the appearance of his genitalia 63 Jordan claimed that Jackson was circumcised 64 However Jackson s autopsy report showed that he had not been circumcised and his foreskin appeared intact with no signs of surgical restoration 65 On January 4 1994 Larry Feldman filed a court motion in an effort to obtain the police photographs of Jackson The motion stated a multiple choice request either provide copies of the photographs submit Jackson to a second search or the court can bar the photographs from the civil trial as evidence Feldman said that the district attorney s office previously refused the request of these photographs 66 Jackson s lawyers asked a Santa Barbara County judge to order prosecutors to return the nude photographs fearing they would become public but were denied 67 Allegations by La Toya Jackson EditOn September 2 1993 as a guest on the Today show Jackson s sister La Toya Jackson expressed support for her brother stating I stand by Michael one thousand percent If you think about it he has been convicted before a trial In the same interview she said she could not tell if the allegations were true and that not being a judge could not assess this A few weeks later on the Maury show La Toya said Jackson was being convicted by the public without having been charged with any crime She said there was nothing inappropriate about his relationship with children and that she would never believe such allegations 68 Jackson s sister La Toya Jackson in 2010 However on December 8 1993 La Toya who had been estranged from the Jackson family and not seen her brother for several years said Jackson was a pedophile 56 69 She said she had seen checks made out to different boys families and that Jackson s own childhood physical abuse had turned him into an abuser She and her then husband Jack Gordon also said that Jackson had tried to kidnap and kill her 70 71 On December 9 La Toya repeated her suspicions to Katie Couric on Today I do know he d have boys over all the time and they d stay in his room for days Then they would come out There d be another boy and he d bring someone else but never two at a time 72 73 74 La Toya said she had proof of Jackson s pedophilia and offered to disclose it for 500 000 A bidding war between US and UK tabloids began but fell through when as Jackson s biographer J Randy Taraborrelli wrote She didn t have much to offer after all 75 The Jackson family disowned her and in later years she recanted the allegations saying she had been forced to make them by her husband 76 77 Prior to making the allegations Gordon had been arrested for assaulting her and the couple divorced three years later 78 By the turn of the millennium Jackson had forgiven his sister 56 In 2009 when recanting her 1993 statements to the broadcaster Barbara Walters she said that Jackson had not been a pedophile and had never indulged in improper relations with a child 79 Lisa Marie Presley EditAccording to Chris Cadman Jackson met the singer Lisa Marie Presley around May 26 1974 during a Jackson 5 engagement in Lake Tahoe Her father Elvis Presley was closing a two week engagement at the Sahara Tahoe while the Jackson 5 were just about to begin one 80 24 In November 1992 Jackson was reconnected with Presley through a mutual friend and they talked almost every day by telephone 81 As the abuse accusations became public he became dependent on Presley for emotional support she was concerned about his faltering health 82 She stated I believed he didn t do anything wrong and that he was wrongly accused and yes I started falling for him I wanted to save him I felt that I could do it 83 She described him in one call as high incoherent and delusional He proposed to her over the phone in late 1993 saying If I asked you to marry me would you do it 82 They divorced less than two years later 84 Jackson s health EditJackson took painkillers for his scalp surgeries administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984 and became dependent on them to deal with the stress of the allegations 85 Within a few months of the allegations becoming news he had lost approximately 10 pounds and stopped eating 86 According to Jackson he had a tendency to stop eating when really upset or hurt and his friend Elizabeth Taylor had to make him eat She took the spoon and would put it into my mouth He said that he eventually became unconscious and had to be fed intravenously 87 While in Mexico on November 8 1993 in a court deposition unrelated to the alleged child abuse Jackson appeared drowsy lacked concentration and slurred while speaking He said he could not remember the dates of his album releases or the names of people he had worked with and took several minutes to name some of his recent albums 88 On November 12 Jackson canceled the remainder of his tour and flew with Taylor and her husband to London When Jackson arrived at the airport he had to be held up He was rushed to the home of Elton John s manager and afterward to a clinic When he was searched for drugs on entry 18 vials of medicine were found in a suitcase Jackson booked the whole fourth floor of the clinic and was put on a Valium IV to wean him from painkillers While in the clinic he took part in group and one on one therapy sessions 89 90 On November 15 Jackson s lawyer Bert Fields spoke publicly of their last meeting in Mexico City and Jackson s painkiller addiction Michael s life was in danger if he continued taking these massive quantities of drugs He was barely able to function adequately on an intellectual level 91 89 85 Fields insisted that a U S drug rehabilitation center would not have the privacy Jackson wanted He also stated that his client was not trying to evade investigation If Michael Jackson wanted an excuse to stay out of the United States all he had to do is stay on his tour 85 On November 23 Fields resigned from the case 39 Jackson s response EditOn December 22 1993 Jackson responded to the accusations for the first time via satellite from Neverland Ranch He denied all the allegations and stated his intent to prove his innocence He accused the media of manipulating the allegations to reach their own conclusions and described the dehumanizing police search as the most humiliating ordeal of my life 92 93 On January 5 1994 a few weeks before the settlement Jackson gave a five minute speech at the 26th NAACP Image Awards asserting his innocence and received a standing ovation During the ceremony one presenter had included Jackson in a list of names calling him Michael Innocent Until Proven Guilty Jackson 94 Media reaction EditMost of the information available on the allegations was released officially or unofficially by the prosecution and unchallenged by Jackson He was largely portrayed as guilty by the media which used sensational headlines implying guilt when the content itself did not support the headline 95 22 Stories were purchased of his alleged criminal activity 96 police investigation material was leaked 46 and unflattering photographs of Jackson were printed 24 Two weeks after the allegations were reported the headline Michael Jackson A Curtain Closes reflected the attitude of most tabloid media 97 The New York Post ran the headline Peter Pan or pervert 98 24 In a piece for Hard Copy Dimond a journalist who spent the next fifteen years trying to prove Jackson was a pedophile ran a story stating it had acquired new documents in the criminal investigation of Michael Jackson and they are chilling they contain the name of child movie actor Macaulay Culkin In fact the document stated that Culkin denied being abused by Jackson 22 99 Two tabloid media outlets bought confidential leaked documents from the LAPD for 20 000 46 A number of Jackson s former employees most of whom had worked at Neverland sold stories which alleged prior sexual misconduct on Jackson s part instead of reporting their claims to police One couple asked for 100 000 claiming that Jackson had sexually caressed Culkin For a fee of 500 000 they would also allege that Jackson put his hands down Culkin s pants Culkin strongly denied the allegation and did so again in court during Jackson s 2005 trial 96 When Jackson left the US to go into drug rehabilitation the Daily Mirror UK held a Spot the Jacko contest offering readers a trip to Disney World if they could correctly predict where he would appear next 100 A Daily Express headline read Drug treatment star faces life on the run while a News of the World headline said Jackson was a fugitive These tabloids also falsely alleged that Jackson had traveled to Europe to have cosmetic surgery that would make him unrecognizable 90 Geraldo Rivera set up a mock trial with a jury made up of audience members even though Jackson had not been charged with a crime 101 A poll at the time conducted by A Current Affair found that nearly 75 percent of Americans believed Jackson was telling the truth 102 103 104 Lawsuit EditOn September 14 1993 Jordan Chandler and his parents filed a lawsuit note 1 against Jackson 105 The lawsuit claimed that Jackson had committed sexual battery seduction willful misconduct intentional infliction of emotional distress fraud and negligence 106 107 In November Jackson s lawyers asked the case be put on hold for as long as six years or until the criminal case was concluded 107 108 Concerns about a civil trial during an ongoing criminal investigation and prosecutors access to plaintiffs civil trial information stemmed from Jackson s Fifth Amendment rights 109 Since two grand juries deemed there was insufficient evidence for criminal charges by the end of the investigation the prosecution could have been able to form the elements of a case around the defense strategy in the trial creating a situation akin to double jeopardy 110 111 Superior Court Judge David M Rothman ordered Jackson s deposition scheduled before the end of January 1994 but said he might reconsider if Jackson was indicted on criminal charges Jackson agreed to be deposed on January 18 His attorneys said he was eager to testify but also said they might oppose the deposition if criminal charges were filed or were still under consideration on his deposition date They said if charges were filed they would want the criminal trial to go first 112 However when authorities notified Jackson s lawyers that they expected their investigation to continue at least through February Jackson s team failed to win a delay of the civil case Rothman denied the motion to delay the civil proceedings until the criminal investigation had been completed and set March 21 1994 as the trial start date 113 Pellicano said Chandler s negotiations had been an attempt to extort Jackson To try to demonstrate this he produced illicit recordings of his negotiations with Rothman Illicit recordings are generally not admissible as evidence but may be used in California where extortion is threatened Howard Weitzman turned over the tapes to the district attorney s office 114 On December 17 1993 Rothman allowed the prosecutors to receive information from Jackson s lawyers and approved discovery information for media disclosure Both Feldman s and Jackson s camps expressed concerns about Jackson s right to a fair trial being compromised by publicly discussing discovery results Johnnie Cochran and Howard Weitzman attorneys representing Jackson argued that investigators were trying to use the suit to advance their criminal investigation a technique that should not be allowed 17 On January 24 1994 prosecutors announced that they would not bring charges against Chandler for attempted extortion as Jackson s camp had been slow to report an extortion claim to the police and had tried to negotiate a settlement for several weeks 47 Chandler had made his settlement demand in early August 1993 and the Jackson camp had filed extortion charges against the Chandler camp in late August 115 In the extortion investigation a search warrant was never sought to search the homes and offices of Chandler and Barry Rothman No grand jury convened when both men refused police interviews 116 In contrast the police had searched Jackson s residences solely based on Jordan s allegations 117 118 and taken lengths to interview or intimidate witnesses 40 34 Weitzman said they had not gone to the police earlier because It was our hope that this would all go away We tried to keep it as much in house as we could 119 Settlement Edit Jackson s legal team met three times a week at Taylor s home to discuss the case 86 Eventually they agreed that Jackson was too sick to endure a lengthy trial and that he should settle out of court 89 The lawsuit was settled on January 25 1994 with 15 331 250 to be held in a trust fund for Jordan 1 5 million for each of his parents and 5 million for the family s lawyer for a total of approximately 23 million 120 According to a motion passed to Judge Melville in 2004 the settlement was for global claims of negligence and the lawsuit was defended by Mr Jackson s insurance carrier The carrier negotiated and paid the settlement over the protests of Mr Jackson and his personal legal counsel 121 On January 29 1994 the Associated Press reported that Jackson had requested his insurance company Transamerica Insurance Group TIG contribute to the settlement A lawyer for TIG Jordan Harriman had made a one time only offer to Jackson on January 13 to resolve his claim Jackson refused that offer but further negotiations followed Russ Wardrip a TIG claims analyst had sent a January 13 registered letter to Jackson s lawyer Howard Weitzman 122 123 acts of sexual activity do not constitute accidental bodily injury Further acts of sexual activity especially those against a minor are inherently intentional wrongful and harmful Coverage for such acts is precluded by the California Insurance Code According to Jackson s attorney Thomas Mesereau Jackson s insurance company was the source of the settlement amounts as noted in a 2005 memorandum in People v Jackson The memorandum also noted that an insurance carrier has the right to settle claims covered by insurance where it decides settlement is expedient and the insured may not interfere with nor prevent such settlements as established by a number of precedents in California 124 Defeating the right would involve convincing a court with the power to overrule the precedent that the earlier decision was either wrongly decided or more often clearly wrong depending on the criteria of the court 125 or the court must be convinced to distinguish the case That is to make the ruling narrower than that in the precedent due to some difference in facts between the current and precedent case while supporting the result reached in the earlier case 126 In 2004 Mesereau said People who intended to earn millions of dollars from Jackson s record and music promotions did not want negative publicity from these lawsuits interfering with their profits Michael Jackson now regrets making these payments These settlements were entered into with one primary condition that condition was that Mr Jackson never admitted any wrongdoing He always denied doing anything wrong Mr Jackson now realizes the advice he received was wrong 127 Jackson explained why he had settled I wanted to go on with my life Too many people had already been hurt I want to make records I want to sing I want to perform again It s my talent My hard work My life My decision 110 He also wanted to avoid a media circus 128 Mesereau later said Jackson regretted settling 129 The settlement cannot be used as evidence of guilt in future civil and criminal cases 130 In 1994 Larry Feldman said nobody bought anybody s silence with the civil settlement 131 Bribery to not testify in a trial is a felony according to California Penal Code 138 Receiving such a bribe is also a felony according to this law 132 Closure of investigation EditDistrict Attorney Gil Garcetti said that the settlement did not affect criminal prosecution and that the investigation was ongoing 133 Jordan Chandler was interviewed after the settlement by detectives seeking evidence of child molestation but no criminal charges were filed 134 On May 2 1994 the Santa Barbara County grand jury disbanded without indicting Jackson while a Los Angeles County grand jury continued to investigate the sexual abuse allegations 135 136 On April 11 1994 the grand jury session in Santa Barbara was extended by 90 days allowing DA Sneddon to gather more evidence Prosecution sources said they were frustrated in their grand jury probe failing to find direct evidence of the molestation charges 137 The final grand jury disbanded in July without returning an indictment against Jackson 138 The Chandlers stopped co operating with the criminal investigation around July 6 1994 139 Until that time Jordan Chandler had indicated his possible willingness to testify according to prosecutors 140 The police never pressed criminal charges 128 Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan s testimony the state closed its investigation on September 22 1994 141 District attorney Sneddon and Lauren Weis head of the county DA s Sex Crimes Unit said that ending the investigation did not reflect any lack of faith in the alleged victims credibility The entire investigation involved two grand juries and more than 400 people interviewed over a period of 13 months 29 107 Sneddon said several leads were explored which were later discovered to be false 142 According to the grand juries the evidence presented by the Santa Barbara police and the LAPD was not convincing enough to indict Jackson or subpoena him 135 even though grand juries can indict the accused purely on hearsay evidence 143 According to a 1994 report by Variety a source in contact with the grand juries said that none of the witnesses had produced anything to directly implicate Jackson 113 According to a 1994 report by Showbiz Today the grand jurors claimed that no damaging evidence was heard and they did not hear any damaging testimony during the hearings 135 In February 1994 the Santa Barbara County Grand Jury convened to assess whether criminal charges should be filed The Los Angeles County Grand Jury began in March 1994 29 By 1994 prosecution departments in California had spent 2 million and convened two grand juries but Jordan Chandler s allegations could not be corroborated 110 In September Sneddon and Garcetti admitted the 18 month investigation had produced no evidence against Jackson 144 The FBI files on Michael Jackson released after Jackson s death also noted that the prosecution had no outstanding leads 145 Aftermath EditA week after the settlement in January 1994 L A District Attorney Garcetti announced that he supported amending a law that prohibited sexual assault victims from being compelled to testify in criminal proceedings 146 The amendment introduced into the state assembly in February would have immediately allowed Garcetti to compel Jordan Chandler s testimony 147 On February 15 1994 PBS Frontline aired the documentary Tabloid Truth The Michael Jackson Story about the tabloid sensationalism more preoccupied with selling papers than reporting an accurate narrative of the scandal The documentary reported Jackson s housekeepers Mark and Faye Quindoy selling stories about Jackson for money and bargaining for more money regarding child abuse allegations They were depicted as untrustworthy Phillip and Stella LeMarque another pair of former employees to Jackson sold a child abuse story to tabloids through pornographic film actor Paul Barresi who once successfully sold a story to the National Enquirer At the opportunity of the scandal Barresi made a taped recording of alleged evidence and told the Globe that he intended to turn it over to the district attorney The Globe and Barresi agreed on 15 000 for his story Splash News journalist Kevin Smith said A lot of people who claimed to have witnessed Jackson doing this that or the other they weren t going to the police first Their main interest was money and they would come to journalists who could give them money So in those circumstances journalists know more about what happened than the police do 148 149 Three years later Victor M Gutierrez self published a book on the relationship between Jordan Chandler and Jackson Gutierrez claimed that the book is based on a diary Jordan had kept at the time and included details of alleged sexual encounters with Jackson 21 150 According to German newspaper Die Tageszeitung Gutierrez attended meetings of North American Man Boy Love Association NAMBLA a group advocating the decriminalization of pedophilia and pederasty as a reporter in the 1980s He said the group thought of Jackson as one of us and they insisted that the relationship between Jordan and Jackson was romantic 150 In 1997 Jackson filed a civil suit against Gutierrez for slander after the writer claimed that he had a tape of Jackson molesting his nephew Jeremy son of Jermaine Jackson The jury ruled in Jackson s favor awarding him 2 7 million Gutierrez fled to Chile after the suit 150 Jackson s attorney Zia Modabber said Jurors told us that they not only wanted to compensate Mr Jackson and punish Victor Gutierrez but to send a message that they are tired of tabloids lying about celebrities for money 151 152 Jackson also filed a 100 million lawsuit against Diane Dimond after she appeared on KABC morning show Ken and Barkley to discuss Gutierrez s alleged tape After the report was broadcast Jackson announced he would sue members of the media who spread vicious lies and rumors about me in their attempts to make money benefit their careers sell papers or get viewers to watch their programs It was dismissed in 1997 153 154 Jordan legally emancipated himself from his parents in 1994 at age 14 155 In 1996 Evan Chandler sued Jackson for around 60 million claiming Jackson had breached an agreement never to discuss the case In 1999 a court ruled in Jackson s favor and threw out the lawsuit 21 In 2006 Jordan accused his father of attacking him with a barbell choking him and spraying his face with mace The charges were dropped 156 On November 5 2009 fourteen weeks after Jackson s death Evan Chandler was found dead from suicide 157 Effect on Jackson s career Edit Jackson s commercial standing and public image declined in the wake of the allegations The government of Dubai forbade him from performing in response to an anonymous pamphlet campaign that attacked him as immoral 158 Jackson backed out of a deal to create a song and video for the film Addams Family Values returning an estimated 5 million 159 and a brand of fragrances was canceled because of Jackson s drug problems 160 Jackson completed the video once planned for Addams Family Values and released it as Ghosts in 1996 with a framing story about an eccentric maestro who entertains children and is pursued by a bigoted local official 161 On November 14 1993 PepsiCo dropped their nine year partnership with Jackson causing some fans to boycott the company 88 158 According to conflicting sources Jackson agreed to compose music for the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 but left the project and was uncredited possibly due to the allegations 162 Jackson produced a special show for the premium cable network HBO For One Night Only to be recorded in front of a special invited audience at New York City s Beacon Theatre for broadcast in December 1995 The shows were canceled after Jackson collapsed at the theater on December 6 during rehearsals Jackson was admitted overnight to Beth Israel Medical Center North The shows were never rescheduled The following year Jackson began the HIStory World Tour The only concerts in the USA were two shows at the Aloha Stadium in Honolulu Hawaii 163 Jackson s album HIStory released shortly after the allegations creates an atmosphere of paranoia according to critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine Its content focuses on the public struggles Jackson went through prior to its production In the songs Scream Tabloid Junkie and You Are Not Alone Jackson expresses his anger and hurt at the media In the ballad Stranger in Moscow he laments his swift and sudden fall from grace 164 165 In D S he attacks a character identified as Tom Sneddon the District Attorney who requested his strip search Jackson describes the person as a white supremacist who wanted to get my ass dead or alive Sneddon said I have not shall we say done him the honor of listening to it but I ve been told that it ends with the sound of a gunshot 166 According to The Washington Post the O J Simpson trial overshadowed Jackson s scandal A source from the Los Angeles District Attorney s Office said the scandal took a back seat once the Simpson case emerged Scriptwriter Alison Taylor said that O J Simpson is the best thing that ever happened to Michael Jackson 53 A judge observed in 2021 that the fact that Jackson earned not a penny from his image and likeness in 2006 2007 or 2008 shows the effect those allegations had and continued to have until his death 167 Further allegations Edit Main article Trial of Michael Jackson On December 18 2003 Jackson was charged with seven counts of child sexual abuse and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent to commit a child sexual abuse felony against Gavin Arvizo 168 Jackson denied the allegations Sneddon again led the prosecution 169 The People v Jackson trial began in Santa Maria California on January 31 2005 170 The judge allowed testimony about past allegations including the 1993 case to establish whether the defendant had a propensity to commit certain crimes 128 171 However Jordan Chandler left the country to avoid testifying Mesereau later said The prosecutors tried to get Chandler to show up and he wouldn t If he had I had witnesses who were going to come in and say he told them it never happened and that he would never talk to his parents again for what they made him say 155 June Chandler testified that she had not spoken to her son in 11 years During her testimony she claimed that she could not remember being counter sued by Jackson and that she had never heard of her own attorney She also said she never witnessed any molestation Jackson was found not guilty of all 14 charges on June 13 2005 155 In 2013 Wade Robson who testified in Jackson s defense reversed his position and filed a lawsuit against Jackson s estate 172 saying Jackson had sexually abused him when Robson was aged between seven and 14 173 The allegations by Robson and another man James Safechuck are the focus of the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland 173 Notes Edit The lawsuit is distinguished from the criminal investigation which happened simultaneously The ending of a lawsuit does not preclude the continuation of an investigation References Edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m The Unsolved Controversies of Michael Jackson Consequence of Sound April 28 2017 Archived from the original on April 28 2017 a b c Wilson Jeff August 27 1993 Case Files Boy Says Jackson Molested Him APnews com Retrieved June 26 2019 Sullivan Randall 2012 South Untouchable The Strange Life amp Tragic Death of Michael Jackson ISBN 978 0 8021 4582 6 Retrieved June 26 2019 a b Campbell p 50 a b Fischer p 217 Fischer pp 217 218 McGovern Kyle February 28 2019 A Complete Timeline of the Michael Jackson Abuse Allegations Vulture Whitefoot John June 25 2018 Michael Jackson s Child Molestation Trial A Timeline Archived from the original on January 20 2021 Retrieved January 1 2021 Taraborrelli p 485 486 a b c Campbell p 53 Taraborrelli p 496 498 Police Say Seized Tapes Do Not Incriminate Jackson Investigation Officials continue to interview children in connection with molestation allegations Articles latimes com August 27 1993 Retrieved June 18 2014 Fischer p 266 Sullivan Randall 2012 South Untouchable The Strange Life amp Tragic Death of Michael Jackson ISBN 978 0 8021 4582 6 Retrieved July 9 2019 Knopper Steve 2015 MJ The Genius of Michael Jackson Scribner pp 212 213 ISBN 978 1 4767 3038 7 Retrieved July 11 2019 Fischer p 220 a b Judge Gives Prosecutors Access to Information in Jackson Civil Suit Courts Jurist also refuses to restrict attorneys remarks to the media Lawyers agree on subjects they won t discuss Los Angeles Times December 18 1993 ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved June 30 2019 Taraborrelli J Randy 2009 Jordie Sees a Psychiatrist Michael Jackson The Magic The Madness The Whole Story ISBN 9780446565684 Retrieved June 26 2019 Wallace Amy Nazaria Sonia August 26 1993 International Furor Stirred by Allegations on Jackson Inquiry Police focus on entertainer s contact with at least 4 boys source says No charges have been filed Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 18 2014 Sullivan Randall 2012 South Untouchable The Strange Life amp Tragic Death of Michael Jackson ISBN 978 0 8021 4582 6 Retrieved June 22 2019 a b c d e 1993 Michael Jackson accused of child abuse BBC February 8 2003 Retrieved November 11 2006 a b c d Campbell p 42 45 Campbell p 167 a b c d Taraborrelli p 500 507 Campbell pp 57 59 Newton Jim Nazario Sonia August 27 1993 Investigation Officials continue to interview children Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 15 2019 Sandler Adam September 3 1993 Lawyer Allred calls for truth in Jackson story Variety Retrieved June 17 2019 Newton Jim September 11 1993 Allred Says She s Off Jackson Case Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 27 2019 a b c Newton Jim September 22 1994 Jackson Not Charged but Not Absolved Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 24 2019 Morewitz Stephen J Goldstein Mark L eds 2013 Handbook of Forensic Sociology amp Psychology Springer p 323 doi 10 1007 978 1 4614 7178 3 23 ISBN 978 1 4614 7177 6 Retrieved July 18 2019 Halperin Ian 2009 Unmasked The Final Years of Michael Jackson pp 48 313 ISBN 978 1 4391 7717 4 Retrieved June 13 2019 Borsboom Jos 2011 Kids amp Allegations Michael Jackson The Icon ISBN 978 1 4475 1692 7 Retrieved June 6 2019 Campbell pp 44 93 a b c d Fischer p 267 Tapes Used to Allege Plot to Extort Jackson Released Inquiry Singer s aides provide purported comments by boy s father who has told friends allegations are untrue Los Angeles Times August 31 1993 TAPE AIRED TO BACK CLAIMS OF EXTORTION ATTEMPT Deseret News Associated Press September 2 1993 Retrieved February 17 2020 Taraborrelli J Randy 2009 The Secret Tape Recording Michael Jackson The Magic The Madness The Whole Story ISBN 9780446565684 Retrieved June 27 2019 White Adam March 8 2019 The tragedy of Michael Jackson s lost boy Whatever happened to Jordan Chandler The Daily Telegraph Archived from the original on January 12 2022 Retrieved June 27 2019 a b Investigator Lawyer Quit Jackson s Defense Team Los Angeles Times December 22 1993 ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved June 30 2019 a b Newton Jim November 17 1993 Jackson s Lawyers Attack LAPD Investigation Los Angeles Times Retrieved May 1 2011 Jackson s Ex Staff Questioned Los Angeles Times September 23 1993 Retrieved June 22 2019 Campbell p 113 115 Jackson back maid says she quit in disgust The Baltimore Sun December 14 1993 Retrieved June 27 2019 Dimond Diane 2005 Be Careful Who You Love Inside the Michael Jackson Case pp 121 122 ISBN 978 0 743 27092 2 Retrieved June 30 2019 Michael Jackson s guards say they ve been threatened TIFF Santa Cruz Sentinel Vol 136 no 331 Associated Press December 3 1993 Retrieved June 8 2019 a b c Campbell pp 47 50 a b Newton Jim January 25 1994 Boy s Father in Jackson Case Won t Be Charged Investigation Singer claimed parent of alleged molestation victim tried to extort money from him D A says the decision not to prosecute is unrelated to reports that settlement is near Los Angeles Times ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved June 30 2019 a b c d Fischer p 221 Dimond Diane 2005 Be Careful Who You Love Inside the Michael Jackson Case pp 61 62 ISBN 978 0 7432 7092 2 Retrieved June 26 2019 Fischer p 265 Michael Jackson Gives First Live Interview to Oprah Winfrey Jet Johnson Publishing Company February 8 1993 Retrieved June 27 2019 Campbell pp 16 17 a b Brockell Gillian March 3 2019 The Michael Jackson denial of child sexual abuse carried live around the world The Washington Post Michael Jackson sings of D A on previous album CNN November 20 2003 Archived from the original on June 4 2011 Retrieved May 1 2011 Campbell p 141 a b c Taraborrelli pp 534 540 Police photographs may save Jackson The Herald Glasgow Caledonian Newspapers Ltd January 28 1994 Retrieved June 27 2019 via JLAforums com Campbell p 173 Photos may contradict Michael s accuser Life USA Today January 28 1994 02 D ISSN 0734 7456 Retrieved June 27 2019 via JLAforums com New look at dark accusations nbcnews com February 17 2003 Retrieved June 30 2019 Halperin Ian July 14 2009 Unmasked The Final Years of Michael Jackson Simon and Schuster ISBN 9781439177198 via Google Books Ebert John David April 18 2019 Dead Celebrities Living Icons Tragedy and Fame in the Age of the Multimedia Superstar ABC CLIO ISBN 9780313377648 via Google Books Newton Jim March 16 1994 Grand Jury Calls Michael Jackson s Mother to Testify Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 27 2019 Ferguson Lee July 29 2009 An interview with Jackson biographer Ian Halperin CBC News Retrieved June 27 2019 1 Michael Jackson s autopsy Boy s Lawyer Seeks Photos of Michael Jackson s Body Los Angeles Times January 5 1994 Retrieved June 27 2019 Sandler Adam February 11 1994 Jackson VP testifies prosecutors keep photos Variety Retrieved June 30 2019 Campbell Lisa D 1994 Michael Jackson The King of Pop s Darkest Hour ISBN 9780828320030 Campbell p 128 Newton Jim December 9 1993 Sister Says She Believes He Is a Molester This has been going on since 1981 and it s not just one child LaToya tells reporters in Tel Aviv Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 7 2019 La Toya Charges Are True Family Says Jackson Never Molested Kids The Washington Post December 9 1993 Retrieved June 18 2019 Latoya s views leave Gumbel Speechless United Press International UPI December 10 1993 Retrieved June 7 2019 Tsioulcas Anastasia March 5 2019 Jackson A Quarter Century Of Sexual Abuse Allegations NPR Retrieved June 7 2019 Borsboom Jos 2011 Kids amp Allegations Michael Jackson The Icon ISBN 978 1 4475 1692 7 Retrieved June 6 2019 Taraborrelli p 539 CNN com Transcripts Transcripts cnn com March 4 2003 La Toya Jackson March 14 2019 La Toya Jackson on Twitter Twitter com Campbell p 29 La Toya Jackson Life After Michael s Death ABC News Cadman Chris 2015 Lisa Marie Presley Michael Jackson The Maestro Definitive A Z Volume II K Z ISBN 978 0 7552 1609 3 Retrieved June 22 2019 Gliatto Tom August 15 1994 Neverland Meets Graceland People Archived from the original on March 29 2011 Retrieved May 1 2011 a b Taraborrelli pp 518 520 Taraborrelli p 510 Taraborrelli pp 580 581 a b c Warrant allows a strip search of Jackson DeseretNews com November 16 1993 Archived from the original on July 16 2019 Retrieved June 27 2019 a b Taraborrelli p 514 516 Vieira Meredith September 25 2009 The Michael Jackson Tapes Dateline MSNBC Retrieved January 13 2011 a b Campbell pp 96 97 a b c Taraborrelli pp 524 528 a b Campbell pp 89 93 Newton Jim Hall Carla November 16 1993 Jackson Barely Able to Function His Lawyer Says Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 23 2019 Rothstein Katie February 28 2019 Every Time Michael Jackson Addressed Sexual Abuse Allegations on the Record Vulture Pareles Jon June 18 1995 POP VIEW Michael Jackson Is Angry Understand The New York Times Retrieved March 24 2008 Leonardi Marisa January 7 1994 Jackson gets cheers in a show marked by controversy Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 25 2019 Thomson Charles March 2 2010 Michael Jackson It s Time for Outlets to Take Responsibility in Covering the Rock Star The Huffington Post Archived from the original on August 17 2011 Retrieved January 24 2011 a b Campbell p 77 80 Campbell p 71 73 Kurtz Howard September 1 1993 MALICE IN NEVERLAND THE MICHAEL JACKSON STORY via www washingtonpost com Brewin Warren September 30 2018 The Truth Is What You Believe Balboa Press ISBN 9781504397544 via Google Books EST Newsweek Staff On 11 28 93 at 7 00 PM November 28 1993 Transatlantic Hide And Seek Newsweek Campbell p 104 106 Campbell p 140 143 The True Story Behind the Child Abuse Allegations That Cost Michael Jackson over 20 Million December 8 2017 Alter Jonathan Treating Michael Jackson with a kid glove baltimoresun com Archived from the original on June 22 2021 Retrieved December 15 2020 Nazario Sonia November 15 1993 Jackson Sued by Boy Who Alleged Sexual Molestation Los Angeles Times Retrieved May 1 2011 Jackson s Accuser Details Sexual Allegations The New York Times Associated Press January 11 1994 Retrieved June 6 2019 a b c Crosby Jessica November 8 1993 While Jakson tours the lawyers war The Washington Post Retrieved June 28 2019 Philips Chuck Newton Jim November 13 1993 Jackson Reportedly Cancels Rest of World Tour Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 28 2019 Bill of Right Transcript Bill of Rights National Archives and Records Administration Archived from the original on February 8 2011 Retrieved January 24 2011 a b c Taraborrelli p 540 545 Reasons for Double Jeopardy Protection Findlaw Retrieved January 27 2011 Newton Jim December 4 1993 Jackson to Give Deposition About Allegations Lawsuit The singer has agreed to tell his side Jan 18 Postponement is possible if the status of criminal investigation changes his lawyer says Los Angeles Times Retrieved May 1 2011 a b Sandler Adam November 23 1993 Jackson told to cooperate in civil trial Variety Retrieved May 1 2011 Jackson Aides Go Back on the Offensive Los Angeles Times September 2 1993 ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved June 30 2019 Tapes Used to Allege Plot to Extort Jackson Released Inquiry Singer s aides provide purported comments by boy s father who has told friends allegations are untrue Los Angeles Times August 31 1993 ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved June 30 2019 Fischer p 268 Campbell pp 44 45 Fischer pp 266 267 Family amp fans support Michael Jackson in child abuse investigation Jet Johnson Publishing Company September 13 1993 p 59 Retrieved June 30 2019 CNN com Jackson settlement from 1993 allegations topped 20 million Jun 16 2004 www cnn com Retrieved June 28 2019 SBSC Public Access Superior Court of the State of California accessed March 6 2012 Jackson sought insurance help to pay boy New Straits Times Associated Press January 30 1994 Retrieved June 11 2019 Report says Jackson wanted insurance to pay teen accuser TIFF Santa Cruz Sentinel Vol 137 no 28 Associated Press January 29 1994 Retrieved June 6 2019 Mesereau et al pp 2 4 Precedent and Analogy in Legal Reasoning 2 Precedent Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy June 20 2006 The lower court is strictly bound because it has no power to overrule the higher court s decision Equally most appeal courts are bound by their own earlier decisions though they are generally entitled in certain circumstances to overrule those decisions There is enormous variation in the circumstances that are necessary for a court to overrule one of its own decisions at a minimum it must regard the earlier decision as wrongly decided but generally more is required than this e g that the decision is clearly or plainly wrong Finally courts are generally not bound by the decisions of lower courts Precedent and Analogy in Legal Reasoning 2 1 Precedents as laying down rules 2 1 2 The practice of distinguishing Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy June 20 2006 Jackson regrets out of court settlements CNN Articles cnn com September 17 2004 Archived from the original on October 5 2012 Retrieved September 22 2011 a b c Jackson s past allowed in court BBC March 25 2005 Retrieved May 1 2011 Jackson regrets out of court settlements CNN September 17 2004 Archived from the original on October 5 2012 Retrieved September 22 2011 Mesereau et al pp 2 12 Newton Jim February 5 1994 Grand Jury to convene in Jackson Case Law Sources close to the investigation say a panel in Santa Barbara will hear testimony next week about alleged molestation of boy Los Angeles Times p 2 Retrieved June 25 2010 California Penal Code Section 138 California Attorney Resources California Laws law onecle com Retrieved June 28 2019 Weinraub Bernard Michael Jackson Settles Suit For Sum Said to Be in Millions The New York Times January 26 1994 Mesereau et al p 9 a b c Jackson Grand Jury Disbanded 1994 MJEOL May 3 1994 Archived from the original on April 28 2015 Transcript of report by anchor Jim Moret May 2 1994 Showbiz Today Jackson Case The Independent London May 2 1994 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved May 1 2011 Sandler Adam April 12 1994 D A Garcetti denies Jackson probe ended Variety Retrieved June 27 2019 Meyer Josh July 7 1994 Jackson amp Arson Cases in Limbo Investigations Grand jury disbanded without bringing indictments against either the pop superstar or two firefighters Los Angeles Times Retrieved June 27 2019 MICHAEL JACKSON ABC NEWS AND THE CALIFORNIA COURTS December 25 2005 Archived from the original on December 25 2005 Retrieved September 30 2017 JACKSON THANKFUL PROBE IS OVER Mydans Seth September 22 1994 No Charges for Now Against Michael Jackson The New York Times Retrieved May 1 2011 JACKSON CASE DROPPED Chapter Four Grand Jury Manual Department of Justice Justice gov Archived from the original on February 21 2014 Retrieved September 30 2017 McDonell Parry Amelia January 29 2019 Michael Jackson Child Sexual Abuse Allegations A Timeline Rolling Stone Retrieved January 15 2023 FBI Records The Vault Michael Jackson Part 3 Page 56 Campbell pp 163 164 Officials desperate to nail Michael Jackson USA Today February 7 1994 Archived from the original on May 7 2011 Retrieved June 27 2019 Tabloid Truth The Michael Jackson Story FRONTLINE Retrieved August 23 2019 Tabloid Truth The Michael Jackson Story video film PBS February 15 1994 Archived from the original on November 17 2021 a b c KOBER HENNING April 5 2005 Es war Liebe Die Tageszeitung taz in German p 13 ISSN 0931 9085 Retrieved June 27 2019 Tribune Chicago MICHAEL JACKSON WINS 2 7 MILLION SUIT AGAINST WRITER chicagotribune com Retrieved June 22 2019 Ryan Joel April 10 1998 Michael Jackson s Victory Archived from the original on February 9 2005 Retrieved November 18 2009 Sandler Adam May 5 1997 Jackson s Hard Copy suit dismissed Variety Retrieved June 22 2019 Michael Jackson Sues Hard Copy Reporter and Radio Talk Show Los Angeles Times January 13 1995 ISSN 0458 3035 Retrieved June 22 2019 a b c Thomson Charles June 13 2010 One of the Most Shameful Episodes In Journalistic History The Huffington Post Retrieved January 24 2011 Hutchinson Bill November 18 2009 Evan Chandler dad of boy who accused Michael Jackson of molestation commits suicide in New Jersey NYDailyNews com New York Retrieved June 25 2010 Allen Nick November 17 2009 Michael Jackson father of Jordan Chandler shoots himself dead The Daily Telegraph ISSN 0307 1235 Archived from the original on January 12 2022 Retrieved June 17 2019 a b Robinson Eugene November 15 1993 Pepsi Drops Elusive Michael Jackson The Washington Post Retrieved June 17 2019 Weinraub Bernard November 16 1993 Jackson Being Treated Abroad For Addiction Lawyer Says The New York Times Campbell p 148 149 Lewis p 125 126 Van Luling Todd January 25 2016 The Michael Jackson Video Game Conspiracy HuffPost Retrieved June 15 2017 Lewis p 95 Erlewine Stephen Michael Jackson HIStory Overview Allmusic Retrieved June 15 2008 Hunter James August 10 1995 Michael Jackson HIStory Rolling Stone Archived from the original on June 22 2008 Retrieved June 15 2008 Thomas W Tom Sneddon Jr ndaa org Archived from the original on January 2 2008 Retrieved July 12 2008 After years court hands tax win to Michael Jackson heirs The Independent May 5 2021 Archived from the original on May 1 2022 Retrieved November 16 2021 Michael Jackson formally charged in molestation case CNN December 18 2003 Archived from the original on October 4 2012 Retrieved May 1 2011 Who Is Tom Sneddon CBS December 17 2003 Archived from the original on May 20 2007 Retrieved May 29 2007 Broder John M LeDuff Charlie February 1 2005 Jackson Trial Starts With Fanfare and Jury Selection The New York Times Retrieved May 1 2011 Jackson defense loses bid to ban past allegations CNN March 29 2005 Retrieved May 1 2011 Duke Alan May 8 2013 Michael Jackson defender files sex abuse claim CNN Retrieved March 1 2019 a b Press Australian Associated February 28 2019 Australian choreographer tells of sexual abuse in Michael Jackson documentary The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved March 1 2019 Works cited EditCampbell Lisa D September 1994 Michael Jackson The King of Pops Darkest Hour Branden Books ISBN 978 0 8283 2003 0 Retrieved September 22 2011 Fischer Mary A October 1994 Did Michael do it Was Michael Jackson Framed The Untold Story GQ 64 10 214 216 221 265 269 George Nelson 2004 Michael Jackson The Ultimate Collection booklet Sony BMG Jones Aphrodite Tom Mesereau June 1 2007 Michael Jackson Conspiracy iUniverse ISBN 978 0 9795498 0 9 Retrieved August 6 2009 Lewis Jones Jel D June 1 2005 Michael Jackson the king of pop the big picture the music the man the legend the interviews an anthology Amber Communications Group Inc ISBN 978 0 9749779 0 4 Retrieved September 22 2011 Mesereau Thomas A Sanger Robert M Oxman Brian March 22 2005 Mr Jackson s Memorandum In Support Of Objection To Subpoena To Larry Feldman For Settlement Documents PDF Superior Court of California County of Santa Barbara Archived from the original PDF on August 2 2012 Retrieved January 24 2011 Taraborrelli J Randy June 4 2004 Michael Jackson the magic and the madness Grand Central Publishing ISBN 978 0 330 42005 1 Retrieved September 22 2011 Portal 1990s Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1993 child sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson amp oldid 1150655155, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.