He faced two child-molestation trials
Jackson was in court twice for child sexual abuse cases. The first was in 1993, when 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his dentist-father, Dr. Evan Chandler, filed a sexual abuse charge against the singer. Jordan’s mother, though, was not in support, believing that Jackson had done no wrong.
The Chandler family demanded compensation from Jackson, who initially refused to negotiate but was subsequently willing. Dr. Chandler was caught on tape saying: “If I go through with this, I win big-time. There’s no way I lose. I will get everything I want and they will be destroyed forever….. Michael’s career will be over”. And Jackson attempted to use the recording to argue that the entire trial was about Chandelier’s desire to extort money from him. However, on January 1, 1994, Jackson and the Chandlers reached an out-of-court settlement for $22 million.
Although Jackson was never criminally indicted by any grand jury and his settlement admitted no wrongdoing and contained no evidence of criminal misconduct, he suffered from a strip search, when his accuser reportedly gave the police a description of his intimate parts.
Advertisement
His second child sexual abuse case came during his filming for a documentary show on British TV, Living with Michael. He was seen discussing sleeping arrangements with a boy, but he claimed it was not sexual in nature. He was charged with seven counts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent in relation to the 13-year-old shown in the film in November 2003. He was, however, acquitted on all counts on June 13, 2005.
Add a comment
