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Mother of Jackson accuser testifies

Under the piercing gaze of Michael Jackson and his family, the mother of Jackson's accuser  sparred with lawyers on Friday at a hearing to determine what evidence can be allowed in the case.
/ Source: The Associated Press

The mother of the boy accusing Michael Jackson of molestation testified Friday she does not remember a private investigator telling her that he was working for one of the pop star’s attorneys, but believed he worked directly for the singer.

The woman took the stand in a hearing at which Jackson’s defense is seeking to exclude evidence seized from the private investigator’s office on grounds of attorney-client privilege, as well as some items taken from his Neverland Ranch during a search.

The 36-year-old woman, who had allowed her children to make overnight visits to Neverland, made the sign of the cross after entering the courtroom. She glanced briefly at Jackson, 46, who stared at her throughout her testimony. She did not look back at him.

The testimony was the first time since the case began that the accuser’s mother came face to face with the pop star, whom she had called “the devil” at a grand jury hearing earlier this year.

Jackson, dressed in a white suit with an embroidered gold armband, was greeted with cheers from dozens of fans when he arrived at the Santa Barbara County courthouse. One fan held a banner with a picture of the pop star and others hoisted signs saying “We Love You Michael.”

One woman supporting the prosecution held a sign that read: “We Support the Victim.”

Outside court, Jackson attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. proclaimed: “The charges he faces are false and will be battled in a court of law within our justice system. He is innocent and will be vindicated.”

Jackson’s attorneys are trying to show that the accuser’s mother and prosecutors should have known private investigator Bradley Miller was working for Jackson’s then-attorney Mark Geragos when authorities seized items from Miller’s office.

During questioning of the woman, Mesereau referred repeatedly to a transcript of an interview between Miller and the mother Feb. 16, 2003, just days after her young son appeared with Jackson on a television special.

Mesereau noted the transcript said Miller told her at the beginning and end of the interview that he was a private investigator working for “specifically an attorney named Mark Geragos who works for Michael Jackson.”

She would not answer directly when Mesereau repeatedly asked if the document was false.

“I’m not denying it was said. I’m saying I don’t remember,” she testified.

The woman said she believed Miller was Jackson’s private investigator because someone named “Frank” had told her so before she met Miller. She did not further identify “Frank.”

Mesereau occasionally seemed exasperated when the woman said she didn’t understand some of his questions. When he asked if Miller had told her he worked for Geragos, she repeatedly said of Miller, “He’s your guy.”

Settlement regrets
Michael Jackson tried to “buy peace” in the past by paying to settle child molestation claims, but now — facing trial in another abuse case — wishes he had fought his accusers in court, a lawyer for the pop star said  Friday.

Jackson, dressed in a glittery white suit and surrounded by members of his family, stood silently by as attorney Tom Mesereau read a long statement portraying the entertainer as a victim of music industry greed.

Mesereau read the statement during a break in a pretrial hearing in the latest case of alleged sexual abuse involving a teenage boy. Jackson was in court to watch the mother of his young accuser take the witness stand, where she sparred with Mesereau for more than two hours.

The lawyer said that when confronted in the past with accusations of child molestation, Jackson had been pressured to make payments by his advisers and by a music industry that “did not want negative publicity from these lawsuits interfering with their profits.”

“Many years ago, he did pay money rather than litigate two false allegations that he had harmed children,” Mesereau said. ”Mr. Jackson now regrets making these payments...Mr. Jackson always denied doing anything wrong.

“Mr. Jackson had hoped to buy peace in the process...He should have fought these actions to the bitter end and vindicated himself,” Mesereau said.

The statement was the singer’s longest and most detailed response yet to months of rumors and leaks. Various media have reported that he paid between $15 million and $20 million to settle a molestation claim in 1993, and that he paid $2 million in 1990 to the son of a maid at his Neverland ranch to avoid a court case.

In the current case, Jackson denies charges of sexually molesting a teenage boy and plying him with alcohol. He is also accused of conspiring to keep the boy’s family silent by making them virtual prisoners at his Central California ranch. Trial is scheduled for Jan. 31.