Posted on 04/07/2005 12:25:46 PM PDT by ex-Texan
From correspondents in Santa Maria, California
A FORMER security guard at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch has claimed he saw the star kissing, fondling and performing oral sex on a young boy in the 1990s.
Ex-guard Ralph Chacon told the superstar's child molestation trial in California that he saw the alleged incident when he peeked through a bathroom window one evening in late 1992 or early 1993.
The then 13-year-old boy involved in the alleged assault won a 1994 out-of-court settlement from Jackson in a deal that ensured his silence and averted a criminal trial.
Mr Chacon, who left Jackson's employment on bad terms in 1994, said he first saw the star and the boy in a Jacuzzi in a building near Neverland's amusement arcade, but the two got out and headed to the shower together.
Feeling something was amiss, the guard said he peeked through a window to see what was going on and saw Jackson and the boy standing naked together in the lighted bathroom.
"I was thinking, 'what's going on in there? Grown man in the shower with a boy' ... it wasn't right," he told trial jurors, who could jail Jackson for up to 20 years if he is convicted in the present case against him.
"I saw Mr Jackson caressing the boy's hair, he was kissing him," he said, adding that Jackson kissed the boy on various areas of his body.
He then told the court in the town of Santa Maria, where Jackson is on trial for allegedly molesting a 13-year-old boy two years ago, of the alleged incident of oral sex.
The former security guard, whom Jackson's lawyer said had lost a lawsuit he filed against the star for alleged wrongful dismissal, also recalled other incidents in which he claimed he saw Jackson kissing and touching the boy.
He said that on one occasion the kissing was "not long, but passionate".
Mr Chacon, who first mentioned the alleged assaults under oath in 1994, said he did not immediately report the incident to authorities as he did not think anyone would believe him. "Who would believe me?" he asked.
Legal analysts following the case said the testimony would deal a major blow to Jackson's defence as it was likely to make an impression on jurors.
The pop icon's mother, Katherine, left the courtroom shortly before the graphic testimony began, and some fans of the embattled superstar cried in the public gallery as they heard the account.
But Jackson's lead lawyer Thomas Mesereau immediately moved to limit the damage from Mr Chacon's testimony.
He pointed out that the former security guard, who worked for Jackson from 1991 to 1994, had lost a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the star and had been ordered to pay Jackson $US1.5 million ($1.95m) in damages and legal costs after his lawsuit was ruled fraudulent and malicious.
In the lawsuit, Mr Chacon had sought $US16 million ($20.8m) in damages from Jackson, Mr Mesereau said.
"You tried to extort Mr Jackson, right?" he asked the witness before he was interrupted by an objection from prosecutors.
Relatives of the now 25-year-old boy involved in the alleged incident have said he will not testify at Jackson's trial.
While Jackson has never faced criminal charges in connection with previous alleged acts of molestation, Judge Rodney Melville has allowed prosecutors to tell jurors of five unproved claims against the star in order to show a possible pattern of child abuse.
The star has denied 10 counts in the case against him, including molestation, plying the boy with alcohol and plotting to keep him and his family captive at Neverland.
If he was peeking through Jackson's bathroom window he's every bit the pervert Jackson is.
That presumption of innocence thing is over rated.
Better be careful there, I'm sure there are plenty of liberals out there that don't see anything wrong with it. I can hear the MJ comments now in that high squeaky voice: When you say shower, fondling, and kissing, you immediately think sexual. Well it's not sexual, it's nice, it's a full grown man and an adolescent boy in a nurturing caring relationship. Afterwards we had warm milk and cookies and postplay.
...who could jail Jackson for up to 20 years if he is convicted in the present case against him.
By that time half of Jackson will be gone ala self-imposed leprosy as his fabricated parts dry rot.
>>I do believe he is a pedophile and I hope he is taken away so no other child has to endure his abuse.<<
i agree, however, I believe he's going to leave the country a lot sooner than people expect.
It would be a shame If the authorities let him get away with it, AGAIN.
Yes, I think that's strange,
because we're not in court, and
we are NOT obliged
to presume he's clean.
Even though you're free to think
for yourself, you don't.
Uh oh. Sound's like Michael blew it...
The LOVE of money is the root of all evil.
I've got about twenty bucks in my pocket, I like it but I don't love it.
He pointed out that the former security guard, who worked for Jackson from 1991 to 1994, had lost a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the star and had been ordered to pay Jackson $US1.5 million ($1.95m) in damages and legal costs after his lawsuit was ruled fraudulent and malicious.
Are you kidding me??? This guy has already had a judgment entered against him because he committed malicious fraud against Jackson previously. Does anyone really think this guy doesn't have a massive grudge against Jackson? And its already been confirmed in that other case that he lied, with malicious intent, to damage Michael Jackson.
If some Republican was the subject of an allegation by a witness this crummy, we'd be all over it, and wondering how any sane person could give it any creedence considering the source.
Maybe Jackson is guilty -- I don't know. But this testimony from this particular evidence is crap. And child molestation is such a horrible crime that just assuming guilt is very unfair. Maybe there's some other great evidence against Jackson showing that he really did this stuff. If so, he should be pummelled. But this is one sad case the prosecution has put together.
Uh oh. This happened in 1992 or 1993. That's back in the day when oral sex was actually sex. Jackson's in big trouble.
I wonder how they expected a security guard to come up with $1.5 million.
Jacko Sicko
I am totally disgusted too - and can't believe ANY parent would put his child in this type of situation -
I'd agree, except Jackson is/was so wealthy that the money doesn't mean the same to him as it would to you and I. A trial like this is horribly invasive of his privacy. He's gotta talk about sex with his wife, how he was a virgin until his 30's, how he liked to look at porno. Adult porno, I might add. And all sorts of other stuff. It consumes his life, all his time, etc.
Even if he's completely innocent, the emotional and other costs of a trial like that are horrendous. And there's always the chance that you'll be found guilty even if you're not. Putting all that together, its not really fair to view settlement as evidence of guilt. More like money not to go through a horrible ordeal.
Or maybe he really was guilty. The point, though, is that there's a very reasonable explanation for why even an innocent Michael Jackson wouldn't want to go through a trial.
Is aiding and abetting still a crime ??
The adage is "The love of money is the root of all evil".
Michael Jackson is a sick creep who should not be allowed to ever come in contact with cheildren, period.
If he was wearing a Roman Collar, he would already have been convicted and 99% of the population would not have given it another thought. Justice would have been done.
But since he's a freaky pop musician, everyone is bending backwards trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, regardless of the ptypical pedophilia pattern over the years.
Tells us what type of society we have become.
"But Jackson's lead lawyer Thomas Mesereau immediately moved to limit the damage from Mr Chacon's testimony.
He pointed out that the former security guard, who worked for Jackson from 1991 to 1994, had lost a wrongful dismissal lawsuit against the star and had been ordered to pay Jackson $US1.5 million ($1.95m) in damages and legal costs after his lawsuit was ruled fraudulent and malicious.
In the lawsuit, Mr Chacon had sought $US16 million ($20.8m) in damages from Jackson, Mr Mesereau said.
"You tried to extort Mr Jackson, right?" he asked the witness before he was interrupted by an objection from prosecutors. "
--- Well hell! Jackson must be innocent then!
/sarcasm
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