Thriller in courtroom

Pop star is acquitted on all 10 counts in a sweeping rejection of case; jurors say they didn't believe accusers

BY TINA SUSMAN | STAFF CORRESPONDENT

June 14, 2005

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - In a stunning rebuff to prosecutors who have pursued Michael Jackson for more than a decade, a jury yesterday acquitted him on all 10 counts in his child molestation trial, with some indicating that they suspected he had a history of pedophilia but did not believe the accusers in this case.

Jackson, 46, remained silent as the clerk repeatedly read aloud "not guilty" in a courtroom hushed save for the muffled sobs of emotional fans. At least one juror openly cried, as did one of Jackson's lawyers, Susan Yu. Jackson sat still and rigid, as he had every day since the trial began four months ago, but as acquittal after acquittal was announced he began dabbing his eyes with a tissue.

Outside, one fan released a white dove with each "not guilty" pronouncement.

After being released by Judge Rodney S. Melville, Jackson hugged each of his three attorneys, then walked to his waiting sport utility vehicle and was driven home to his Neverland Valley Ranch without speaking to reporters or to the hundreds of cheering fans outside the courthouse.

"In a case like this, you're hoping you can find a smoking gun or something you can grab onto that says [something] definitely one way or another," juror Raymond Hultman, said after the verdict. "In this case, we had difficulty finding that."

But in response to a question on CNN, he said, "I feel that Michael Jackson probably has molested boys. ... I can't believe that this man could sleep in the same bedroom for 365 straight days and not do something more than watch television and eat popcorn. ... But that doesn't make him guilty of the charges that were presented in this case, and that's where we had to make our decision."

Other jurors echoed the sentiment at an earlier news conference.

"What mother in her right mind would allow that to happen, just freely volunteer her child to sleep with someone?" another juror said.

But Jackson's chief defense attorney, Thomas Mesereau Jr., said, "Justice was done," with a broad smile after seeing Jackson off. Prosecutor Thomas Sneddon, who sat expressionless in the courtroom as the verdicts were announced, refused later to question the jury's rejection of his case, which included more than 80 witnesses, including several who testified to Jackson having molested other boys - among them actor Macaulay Culkin - in the early 1990s.

"In 37 years, I have never quarreled with a jury's verdict, and I'm not going to start today," said Sneddon, who was frustrated in his attempt in 1993 to bring child molestation charges against the pop star. The alleged victim settled out of court.

Jackson had long insisted that this case was the result of a grudge Sneddon held as a result of the 1993 incident. The alleged victim in that case refused to testify for the prosecution in this trial, but his mother was one of several witnesses who took the stand to bolster claims that Jackson made a habit of targeting adolescent boys from broken homes, befriending them, virtually prying them from their own families and molesting them.

In the current case, Jackson was accused of doing the same thing with a cancer survivor, then 13, whom he had met in 2001 as the boy lay near death. After learning that a fan was ill, Jackson telephoned the boy, starting the relationship.

The defense said the boy and his mother were "actors, con artists and liars," and used the boy's illness to win money from the rich and famous.

Jackson was charged with holding the boy, his mother and his two siblings virtually captive at Neverland in early 2003 as part of a conspiracy to undo damage caused by the TV documentary "Living With Michael Jackson."

The documentary showed Jackson holding hands with his future accuser and included his admission that he liked sharing his bed with children, but in a nonsexual manner. Prosecutors said the backlash prompted Jackson and associates to imprison the accuser's family and force them to make a rebuttal video.

In addition to conspiracy, Jackson was charged with four counts of molestation, one count of attempted molestation and four counts of providing alcohol to a minor with the intent to commit molestation.

While Sneddon had no quarrels with jurors, who had deliberated for seven days, it was clear they had plenty of issues with his case, from the evidence to the chronology of events to the credibility of the accusers - particularly the mother of the alleged molestation victim.

The jurors' most pointed comments were reserved for the mother, who held the stand nearly five days and whose rambling, melodramatic behavior was cited by legal analysts as an element that could sink the prosecution's case. Not only did they find her story of being held captive at Neverland hard to believe - it emerged in her testimony that she left Neverland frequently during the supposed captivity, including once to get a leg wax - they were not convinced by her efforts to bond with them.

"I disliked it when she snapped her fingers at us - that's when I thought, 'don't snap your fingers at me, lady!'" said one juror as others laughed and nodded in agreement.

"She didn't take her eyes off of us. That was uncomfortable," said another.

Jurors indicated that they were disturbed by Jackson's behavior around children, but did not feel comfortable convicting him because of the doubts raised by the defense, and by the prosecution's own faulty witnesses.

"We were very troubled by that," the jury foreman, Paul Rodriguez, said on CNN later in reference to Jackson sharing the bed, "but we had to stick to the facts of the case. ... We would hope he doesn't sleep with children anymore."