Jackson walks on sex rap

Saying they felt the weight of the world's eyes upon them, the jury in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial yesterday acquitted him on all 10 counts.

The singer, once one of the world's most powerful celebrities, sat stone still as a court clerk read the verdicts. He did not look at the jury. Juror No. 8, a blond woman, wept openly as the singer was cleared of allegations he had groped a 13-year-old cancer survivor's genitals.

The courtroom was packed with Jackson's family members - among them his parents and siblings LaToya, Janet and Randy - and fans who openly prayed before the verdicts were read. When the clerk reached the final count and calmly said, "Not guilty," one fan audibly gasped and let out a laugh of relief.

The tension in the courtroom was overwhelming as Judge Rodney Melville slowly tore open the sealed envelopes containing the verdict. The judge's voice shook as he thanked the 12 jurors - eight women and four men - for their service. After 14 weeks of testimony from nearly 140 witnesses, they deliberated for about 32 hours over seven days. The judge gave them 98 pages of instructions.

After the verdicts were read, Jackson stood stoically and hugged both his lawyers, Tom Mesereau and Robert Sanger. Then he turned and walked outside into the blazing sun and calmly climbed into a black SUV that took him back to Neverland - his 1,092-hectare ranch in the hills south of Santa Maria.

Mesereau turned on his heel and smiled as he walked back into the courtroom to collect his belongings. He said only three words: "Justice was done."

The jury chose to believe Jackson - who did not testify at the trial, letting videotaped interviews do the talking - over the teenage cancer survivor and his family.

The boy's story of growing up in poverty and being diagnosed with a potentially deadly illness was tragic, but Mesereau successfully argued the family was made up of "con artists, actors and liars" who had shaken down other celebrities for money in the past.

The defence argued the family was trying to take advantage of a naive, childlike genius who was too trusting.

Mesereau told the jury of how the family had received a $152,000 settlement in a civil suit against J.C. Penney in 2001 after claiming security guards roughed them up in a parking lot. Jackson's accuser had been caught shoplifting from the store.

The mother of Jackson's accuser rivalled the pop star as one of the strangest characters at the trial. During her testimony, she stared directly at the jury and snapped her fingers to get their attention.

Indeed, the family's actions often perplexed legal analysts more than Jackson's predilection for befriending young boys and allowing them to run wild at Neverland.

Prosecutor Tom Sneddon had alleged that Jackson conspired to hold the family hostage at Neverland after the release of a British documentary in which he held his young accuser's hand and admitted he liked sharing his bed with young boys.

The family helped film a "rebuttal video" that was shown to the jury, in which they heaped praise on Jackson for his kindness.

CREDIT: HARAZ GHANBARI, AP

Michael Jackson is joined by his mother, Katherine (left), and father, Joe (far right), as they leave the Santa Barbara County Courthouse in Santa Maria, Calif., yesterday. The jury found the pop star not guilty on all counts.

The family alleged Jackson plied his accuser with wine, which he called "Jesus juice," and groped the boy's genitals on several occasions in February or March 2003, around the same time the singer was under scrutiny worldwide for his controversial remarks.

The prosecution charged Jackson with 10 felony counts, including committing a lewd act on a child, attempting to commit a lewd act on a child and administering an intoxicating agent (alcohol) to assist with the child molestation and conspiracy.

If convicted on all counts, he would have faced nearly 19 years in prison.

Sneddon said yesterday he was disappointed the jury did not believe him.

"Obviously we're disappointed in the verdict," he said, adding, "We believe in the system of justice."

Asked if he had brought the case on the word of the wrong family, Sneddon paused.

"If you believe victims, you don't look at their pedigree," the prosecutor said. "You do what's right."

During the four-month trial, Sneddon had introduced so-called "pattern evidence" designed to show Jackson was a cunning predator who had lured five young boys during the 1990s and groomed them for abuse with alcohol and pornography.

But only one of the boys testified Jackson had abused him. Another boy, whose family reportedly received more than $20 million in a civil settlement, did not testify.

The other three - including actor Macaulay Culkin - flew in from as far away as Australia to adamantly testify Jackson had never abused them. The jurors heard one of those boys had slept in Jackson's bed for 365 days over two years.

During the four-month trial, some of the most intimate details of the singer's life were revealed - including an alleged drinking problem, his $270-million debt and the intricate security system guarding his bedroom.

The jurors also heard about how Jackson had one day hoped to host a "celebrity animal party" for his chimpanzee, Bubbles, with guests such as Benji and Lassie.

The jurors heard Jackson is spending up to $30 million a year more than he makes. With a full acquittal, music industry experts say it might be possible for the self-proclaimed "King of Pop" to resurrect his career.

"It's already wrong to call him the King of Pop today," said Gary Bongiovanni, editor of Pollstar, a publication on the concert industry.

"It would have been even more wrong if he (went) to jail."

Bongiovanni said Jackson could probably still fill arenas in Europe, where his fan base is largest, to help himself climb out of his financial crisis.

Analysts said the acquittal means Jackson might not have to sell his stake in a catalogue of Beatles music worth $1 billion, a constant stream of revenue for the singer.

After the verdicts, fans fled the courthouse in a mad dash for Neverland. Confetti littered the ground in front of the barricades where they had stood vigil during the trial.

Jackson barely acknowledged his fans as he left the courthouse a free man. But as his SUV passed the Best Value Inn on his regular route back to Neverland, he waved at fans, many of whom came from overseas and stayed at the hotel for months during his trial.

"I got it on camera," said Michelle Rendon, who owns the budget hotel. "You could see his little hand sticking right out that window.

"It made me happy."

National Post

Please see JACKSON, Page A4Singer squeezed financially, Page A3Mother bothered jurors, Page A4


MARY VALLIS
CanWest News Service