Michael Jackson to Be Charged Thursday |
| Posted by: Marc Flemming | | Singer Michael Jackson will be charged on Thursday with child molestation, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's office said on Wednesday.
Details of the felony charges against Jackson, 45, who was arrested last month after a raid at his fairy tale-themed Neverland Ranch outside of Santa Barbara in Central California, were not released.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Thomas Sneddon Jr. will hold a news conference at 1 p.m. PST (4 p.m. EST) on Thursday as the charges are filed in state superior court, a spokesman said.
Prosecutors said that the time of Jackson's arrest that he would face multiple charges of child molestation.
Source: Reuters | | Reply To this Message
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| Posted by: mystic | | They must have something strong enough that the DA decided to charge him formally.... | | Reply To this Message
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| Posted by: fuscia | | SANTA BARBARA, California (CNN) -- California prosecutors formally filed charges Thursday against pop star Michael Jackson in a case stemming from allegations he molested a cancer-stricken boy invited to his Neverland Ranch.
Jackson was charged with nine counts -- seven of child molestation and two of administering an intoxicating agent for the purpose of a committing a felony. The charges involve incidents alleged to have occurred in February and March of this year, District Attorney Tom Sneddon said.
In addition, the complaint includes special allegations that could make Jackson ineligible for probation in the case, Sneddon said.
The charges against the 45-year-old singer come nearly a month after local authorities raided his Neverland Ranch home. He was booked November 20 on suspicion of multiple counts of child molestation and has been free on $3 million bond.
The singer and his lawyers maintain he is innocent, and contend that the boy in the current case and his family have brought the allegations for financial gain.
In a prepared statement released Thursday, Sneddon said the alleged victim would take the stand at a trial.
"The family is committed to this process," Sneddon said.
Thursday's charges were filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, a working-class town close to Jackson's Neverland Ranch.
The charging documents were delivered to a court clerk and specific counts were not immediately released.
The filing came after Sneddon had agreed to delay Jackson's arraignment a week to January 16, and return Jackson's passport to allow him to travel overseas.
Sneddon earlier had scoffed at suggestions his case was falling apart.
"Everything will become clear when the charges are filed," Sneddon said earlier this month.
Last week, a memo from a Los Angeles child welfare agency was leaked to the news media in which the agency said the latest allegations of sexual abuse against Jackson are "unfounded."
Sneddon last week said he discounted the memo because his office has more information.
"Our investigators were aware of the contents of the memo prior to seeking the search warrants and arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson," Sneddon said.
Asked if thought the leaked memo hurt his case, Sneddon replied, "No, we are not worried."
Jackson was accused in 1993 of molesting a different boy, but formal charges were never filed and that case was reportedly settled for millions of dollars. Sneddon was the district attorney who looked into that case.
On Thursday, Sneddon denied suggestions that the state waited to file charges in hopes of finding evidence in the interim. "That was never, never, never the intent of our office," he said.
Given the intense interest in the case, he said, prosecutors wanted to wait until a Web site was in place, he said. "They're having technical difficulties. I told the court we're not going to wait any longer | | Reply To this Message
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| Posted by: schmiggens | | He has been charged but I heard that they have given him his passport back so that he can go to Europe next week for a "business meeting". A business meeting? With who? About what? Hasn't this charge ended his career yet?
If it was you or I, we would not get our passports back. More special treatment for the stars. | | Reply To this Message
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| Posted by: mystic | |
| quote: |
schmiggens said this in post #4 :
If it was you or I, we would not get our passports back. More special treatment for the stars. |
agreed!!!!
Completely unfair!
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| Posted by: Lawless | | Pisses me off... giving him his passport back? NO WAY! He's got the money... make the people that he's meeting with for a "Business meeting" fly here, and meet with him!! I'm so sick and tired of the rich and famous getting "SPECIAL TREATMENT!" You're right... we wouldn't get our passports back!!! We would still be sitting in jail because we couldn't make the bail. | | Reply To this Message
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| Posted by: chelktty | | Exactly Kris, it's complete and total  ! Man it must be nice to be a celebrity! | | Reply To this Message
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| Posted by: Lawless | | Oh yeah... 'chel, there's this country song by Brad Paisley:
"CELEBRITY"
Someday I'm gonna be famous,
Do I have talent, well, no.
These days you don't really need it,
Thanks to reality shows
Can't Wait to date a supermodel,
Can't Wait to sue my dad.
Can't wait to wreck a Ferrari
On my way to rehab....
Chorus-
Cause when you're a Celebrity
It's adios reality
You' can act just like a fool
People think you're cool
Just cause your on TV.
I can throw major fits
When my latte isn't just how I like it
They say I've gone insane,
I'll blame it on the fame,
And the pressures that it goes with
Being a Celebrity
uh huh
I get to cry to Barbara Walters,
When Things don't go my way.
I'll get community service
No matter which law I break
I'll make the supermarket tabloids,
They'll write some awful stuff
But the more they run my name down,
THE MORE MY PRICE GOES UP!
Chorus-
Cause when you're a Celebrity,
It's adios reality.
No matter what you do,
People think you're cool,
Just cause you're on TV.
I can fall in and out of love,
Have marriages that barely last a month.
When they go down the drain
I'll blame it on fame
And say it's just so tough.
Being a Celebrity
So let's hitch up the wagons and head out west
To the land of fun in the sun
We'll be real world bachelors
Jackass Millionaires
Hey, Hey, Hollywood
Here we come!
Chorus-
Yeah, When you're a Celebrity
It's adios reality
No matter what you do,
People think you're cool,
Just cause you're on t.v.
...Being a Celebrity
...Yeah Celebrity!
...uh-huh
"Where's my coffee?" | | Reply To this Message
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| Posted by: Lawless | | I know... it's one of my favorite songs!!! Have you seen the video? 
So, even the stars are making fun of the fact that MANY celebs think that it's okay to treat others like crap, and expect to be handed everything on a silver platter, just because they are famous. It's funny... because, they know that it's true!!
MJ is being given star treatment. I'm sorry... that shouldn't happen! | | Reply To this Message
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Michael Jackson Forum: Michael Jackson to Be Charged Thursday
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