Testimony Highlights From Michael Jackson Trial

by **Admin** Fri Nov 08, 2013 7:04 pm

Testimony Highlights From Michael Jackson Trial

Key testimony presented by prosecutors in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial:

-- The accuser, a 15-year-old former cancer patient, said he was twice molested by Jackson at the pop star's Neverland ranch. The accuser's brother said he saw Jackson fondle his sleeping brother two times. The boys' mother testified that the family was held captive by Jackson associates who claimed "killers" were after them. Jackson's defense contended family members fabricated the claims after realizing they were being evicted from the estate.

-- Several witnesses testified they saw or had been the victim of inappropriate touching by Jackson, a prosecution effort to show Jackson had a history of abusing boys dating to the late 1980s. The defense suggested the witnesses either had a grudge against Jackson after losing a lawsuit to him or made the claims only under tough questioning from detectives.

-- The mother of a boy who received a multimillion-dollar settlement from Jackson for dropping molestation allegations said Jackson pleaded with her to let her son sleep with him. The woman said that after she agreed in 1993, she was treated to trips and lavish gifts.

Key testimony presented by the defense:

-- Jackson never took the stand but the jury heard him on a videotape making such remarks as "I'm not a nut" and "I haven't been betrayed or deceived by children. Adults have let me down."

-- Actor Macaulay Culkin testified that he was not molested during childhood visits to Neverland during which he shared a bed with Jackson. Two other young men said that as boys they repeatedly slept in the singer's bedroom without being touched inappropriately. Prosecutors had said all three had been Jackson's victims.

-- Comedians Jay Leno and Chris Tucker testified that they became suspicious of the accuser's motivations. Leno said he received numerous phone messages of praise from the boy in 2000 that sounded scripted and Tucker said the accuser and his brother cunningly tried to extract money and gifts from him.

-- Several witnesses testified that during the time family members claimed to be captives, they showed no signs of being unhappy at Neverland and were allowed to run up $7,000 in shopping, dining and other bills paid by Jackson.

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