MySonNick1
11-21-2003, 05:46 PM
If someone has already posted this I am sorry.
Jackson in seclusion as troubles grow
D.A. won’t file charges until after holiday; attention turns to his own kids
A security guard stands next to an SUV carrying Michael Jackson as camera crews mob the vehicle outside the Henderson, Nev., airport.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 21 — A day after his arrest on suspicion of molesting a young boy, Michael Jackson was in seclusion as prosecutors on Friday prepared charges and pressure mounted on authorities to take away his three children.
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY District Attorney Tom Sneddon, a man portrayed in the press as Jackson’s longtime nemesis, said in a statement that he would not file formal charges against the moon-walking entertainer until after Thanksgiving.
Jackson — who was whisked from Las Vegas to California and back just long enough to surrender to police, hand in his passport and post $3 million bail — was due in court for an arraignment on Jan. 9.
The self-proclaimed “King of Pop” has not spoken publicly since some 60 police officers stormed his ranch on Tuesday looking for evidence to substantiate the allegations of an unidentified young boy. Jackson said in a statement the allegations were outrageous lies and predicted he would be exonerated.
“Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons,” Jackson said, according to a written statement released by his publicist. “The truth will win this marathon in court.”
Jackson, who was seen shaking hands with well-wishers as his car was driven slowly through the streets of Las Vegas on Thursday night, is believed holed up in a hotel and spa outside the resort city, where he was making a music video for his latest album.
A general manager at the hotel said he could not comment on the performer’s whereabouts.
Meanwhile high-profile Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred said she would call on the Santa Barbara Department of Social Services to take away Jackson’s three young children in light of the allegations.
A spokesman for that agency declined to say if Jackson, who lives at his Neverland Valley Ranch in the hills above Santa Barbara, was being investigated.
Jackson’s arrest has riveted much of the nation and produced stunning pictures of one of the world’s best-known pop stars in handcuffs.
FALLING RECORD SALES
The mug shot taken of Jackson, posted on the sheriff’s Web site and widely circulated on the Internet, showed the 45-year-old singer in lipstick and eyeliner, his cheeks sunken, looking tense and haggard with long hair hanging over one eye.
Sneddon has said Jackson will be charged under a California law that defines molestation as “arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions or sexual desires of” the offender or a child under age. The charge carries a penalty of three to eight years in prison.
It was the second time in 10 years that such allegations have been made against the performer, who rose to fame as the young lead singer of the Jackson 5 during the 1960s, and made one of the best-selling albums of all time, 1982’s “Thriller.”
In August 1993, police launched a criminal probe after a 13-year-old boy told his therapist Jackson sexually molested him for four months.
The incident sent Jackson to the television airwaves to proclaim his innocence. He described a police interrogation as ”the most humiliating ordeal of my life” after detectives strip searched him to look for identifying marks on his genitals.
In January 1994, Jackson settled a civil suit filed by the boy’s family, and Sneddon’s office said they would not file criminal charges because the boy refused to testify.
But Jackson’s image never fully recovered and in recent years his record sales have fallen far short of his “Thriller” heyday. He has also struggled with mounting legal and financial woes and controversy surrounding his personal life has begun to overshadow his fame as a singer.
© 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.
Jackson in seclusion as troubles grow
D.A. won’t file charges until after holiday; attention turns to his own kids
A security guard stands next to an SUV carrying Michael Jackson as camera crews mob the vehicle outside the Henderson, Nev., airport.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 21 — A day after his arrest on suspicion of molesting a young boy, Michael Jackson was in seclusion as prosecutors on Friday prepared charges and pressure mounted on authorities to take away his three children.
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY District Attorney Tom Sneddon, a man portrayed in the press as Jackson’s longtime nemesis, said in a statement that he would not file formal charges against the moon-walking entertainer until after Thanksgiving.
Jackson — who was whisked from Las Vegas to California and back just long enough to surrender to police, hand in his passport and post $3 million bail — was due in court for an arraignment on Jan. 9.
The self-proclaimed “King of Pop” has not spoken publicly since some 60 police officers stormed his ranch on Tuesday looking for evidence to substantiate the allegations of an unidentified young boy. Jackson said in a statement the allegations were outrageous lies and predicted he would be exonerated.
“Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons,” Jackson said, according to a written statement released by his publicist. “The truth will win this marathon in court.”
Jackson, who was seen shaking hands with well-wishers as his car was driven slowly through the streets of Las Vegas on Thursday night, is believed holed up in a hotel and spa outside the resort city, where he was making a music video for his latest album.
A general manager at the hotel said he could not comment on the performer’s whereabouts.
Meanwhile high-profile Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred said she would call on the Santa Barbara Department of Social Services to take away Jackson’s three young children in light of the allegations.
A spokesman for that agency declined to say if Jackson, who lives at his Neverland Valley Ranch in the hills above Santa Barbara, was being investigated.
Jackson’s arrest has riveted much of the nation and produced stunning pictures of one of the world’s best-known pop stars in handcuffs.
FALLING RECORD SALES
The mug shot taken of Jackson, posted on the sheriff’s Web site and widely circulated on the Internet, showed the 45-year-old singer in lipstick and eyeliner, his cheeks sunken, looking tense and haggard with long hair hanging over one eye.
Sneddon has said Jackson will be charged under a California law that defines molestation as “arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions or sexual desires of” the offender or a child under age. The charge carries a penalty of three to eight years in prison.
It was the second time in 10 years that such allegations have been made against the performer, who rose to fame as the young lead singer of the Jackson 5 during the 1960s, and made one of the best-selling albums of all time, 1982’s “Thriller.”
In August 1993, police launched a criminal probe after a 13-year-old boy told his therapist Jackson sexually molested him for four months.
The incident sent Jackson to the television airwaves to proclaim his innocence. He described a police interrogation as ”the most humiliating ordeal of my life” after detectives strip searched him to look for identifying marks on his genitals.
In January 1994, Jackson settled a civil suit filed by the boy’s family, and Sneddon’s office said they would not file criminal charges because the boy refused to testify.
But Jackson’s image never fully recovered and in recent years his record sales have fallen far short of his “Thriller” heyday. He has also struggled with mounting legal and financial woes and controversy surrounding his personal life has begun to overshadow his fame as a singer.
© 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.