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THE JACKSON TRIAL: Accuser's cousin rebuts prosecution claims about alcohol5/18/05
By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
Attacking the credibility of Michael Jackson's accuser, the defense put the entertainer's cousin on the witness stand Tuesday to rebut prosecution claims that the boy and his brother drank alcohol only when the entertainer gave it to them.
Simone Jackson testified that she saw the adolescent boys each steal a bottle of wine from Mr. Jackson's kitchen at Neverland Valley Ranch in March 2003. The 16-year-old told jurors she was up late playing a video game in the kitchen when she saw the boys sneak in and grab the bottles and wine glasses. "I told them they weren't supposed to do that, and they told me to be quiet and not say anything."
The testimony in the Santa Maria courtroom directly conflicts with that of the boys, who both insisted they never touched what the entertainer calls "Jesus juice" unless he gave it to them.
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The cousin's statements back those of two witnesses this week who linked the boys to drinking at the ranch during their monthlong stay.
Today, the girl's 12-year-old brother is expected to testify that he walked in on the boys at a guest unit at the ranch and saw both perusing adult material and masturbating, News-Press sources said.
Defense lawyers have called 28 witnesses during the past 10 days in an attempt to negate the prosecution's charges that Mr. Jackson conspired to hold the family captive in February 2003 until they agreed to participate in a video. Afterward, prosecutors allege, Mr. Jackson molested the boy in his king-sized bed during the second week in March 2003.
In a further effort to rebut the conspiracy claim, CNN talk show host Larry King is expected to testify Thursday and comedian Jay Leno is expected to testify early next week, News-Press sources said. The celebrities' testimony is expected to support defense assertions that the mother has a history of trying to separate stars from their cash. The defense contends the woman made up the allegations against Mr. Jackson after a failed attempt to get money from him.
Film and TV actress Vernee Watson is expected to take the stand today to tell jurors that she denied the mother's request for money and a place to live.
Young Jackson Cousin Testifies in TrialBy TIM MOLLOY, Associated Press Writer
A young cousin of Michael Jackson testified in the pop star's child molestation trial Wednesday that he saw Jackson's accuser and the boy's brother fondle themselves in a guest cottage at the singer's Neverland ranch.
The defense elicited the testimony in an apparent effort to show that the accuser engaged in sexual activity on his own.
Rijo Jackson said he was staying with the brothers one night in 2003 when they turned a television to a station showing naked women, began masturbating and suggested he do the same.
"I said I didn't want to 'cause it was nasty," said the witness, who was 10 years old at the time.
On cross-examination by prosecutor Ron Zonen, the boy said he went to Michael Jackson's bedroom to sleep after the incident and told the pop star what the boys were watching on TV.
"He didn't believe it. He thought they were cool and they wouldn't do that," Rijo Jackson said.
Zonen asked whether he told Jackson about the masturbation and the witness said he had not.
"I didn't wanna like tell him 'cause I was scared," Rijo Jackson said.
Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in February or March 2003, plying the boy with wine and conspiring to hold him and his family captive.
Prosecutors claim the conspiracy was intended to get the family to make a video rebutting a TV documentary in which the accuser appeared with Jackson and the pop star said he allowed children to sleep in his bed but that it was non-sexual.
Rijo Jackson also testified that he once saw the boys take wine that had been delivered to Michael Jackson's master bedroom.
He said the wine was delivered to the downstairs area of the room and they offered to take it upstairs to the singer.
The witness said Michael Jackson was in a bathroom when chef's assistant Angel Vivanco brought in the wine with the cork still in the bottle. He said the brothers took the wine upstairs and that when he next saw the bottle the cork was removed and some of the wine was gone.
Rijo Jackson said he didn't tell his cousin because he wasn't sure the boys drank the wine.
Prosecutors contend Jackson gave the boys wine and showed them adult materials as a precursor to sex, but the defense contends the boys were troublesome and got those things on their own.
Rijo Jackson also testified he saw the boys steal items from drawers including money belonging to a chef. He also said he saw them run out of ranch manager Jesus Salas' office with money he believed they had taken.
The witness said he didn't tell Michael Jackson about the alleged stealing because the singer was often away. He said he did try to tell a maid about money being stolen from the kitchen.
On Tuesday, Simone Jackson, a 16-year-old cousin of the singer said she once saw the boys steal wine from a kitchen at Neverland in February 2003.
In other testimony Tuesday, Los Angeles county social worker Irene Lavern Peters testified that she met with the accuser and his family during the time they claim they were Jackson's captives and they praised him and denied any sexual abuse.
Peters said she met with the mother and her three children on Feb. 20, 2003, after the airing of a documentary that drew attention to Jackson's relationship with the boy who is now his accuser.
Peters said she specifically questioned the accuser about his relationship with Jackson.
"I asked him if he had ever been sexually abused by Michael Jackson and he became upset. He said, 'Everybody thinks Michael Jackson sexually abused me. He never touched me,'" she said.
She said the accuser told her Jackson "was very kind to him and treated him like a father."
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