Stepfather of accuser takes the stand
By The Associated Press
SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The stepfather of Michael Jackson's young accuser took the stand Tuesday in his child molestation trial to testify about an alleged conspiracy to hold the boy's family captive.
The man was expected to testify that his future wife and her children were held at Jackson's Neverland ranch in February and March 2003 because the singer wanted them to help rebut a damaging TV documentary.
The documentary showed the boy holding hands with Jackson and the singer saying he allows children to share his bed in a non-sexual way.
The prosecution said Monday it would call the accuser's mother as early as Tuesday after some legal problems with her testimony were resolved.
ABC News reported that the mother might not take the stand to avoid potential legal problems concerning alleged welfare fraud. Citing unidentified sources, ABC said a prosecution motion filed under seal asks that the defense be prohibited from asking questions about welfare fraud.
District Attorney Tom Sneddon said in opening statements that the mother would admit obtaining welfare funds to which she was not entitled, but ABC said the mother has threatened to plead the Fifth Amendment.
On Monday, another woman, the mother of a boy who received a multimillion-dollar settlement Jackson in the 1990s, told jurors that she allowed her son to sleep in Jackson's bed after a tearful plea from the singer.
The woman testified that Jackson treated her to trips and jewelry after she agreed to let the boy sleep in Jackson's room during a trip to Las Vegas in 1993. She never testified, however, to seeing her son molested.
She said that after she was flown to Las Vegas on resort mogul Steve Wynn's jet and treated to a weekend at the Mirage hotel, Jackson left to take her son to a performance of Cirque du Soleil but returned early and knocked on her door.
"He was sobbing, shaking, trembling. He said, 'You don't trust me. We're a family. Why won't you allow him to be in my bedroom?" the woman testified.
She said Jackson also told her there was "nothing going on" and again asked if she didn't trust him.
She said she finally relented and the next day Jackson gave her a gold Cartier bracelet.
The woman appeared to be the last witness in an effort to show Jackson has a pattern of inappropriate behavior with young boys.
The woman said her son is now 25 and hasn't spoken to her in 11 years. Asked if that was by her choice, she said no. Her son has refused to testify.
The boy and his mother received money from a settlement after the boy filed a lawsuit accusing Jackson of molestation. The boy subsequently refused to cooperate in a criminal investigation, and no charges were filed.