The grand jury indictment against singer Michael Jackson names five people allegedly involved in a criminal conspiracy with the singer, according to a court document released Friday by the pop star’s defense team.
It was previously unknown how many other people were included in the indictment, which accuses Jackson of child molestation and a conspiracy count involving allegations of child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.
“The indictment imagines an elaborate conspiracy among Mr. Jackson, five identified persons and unidentified others,” wrote defense attorney Steve Cochran.
The filing was a response from Jackson’s team to media requests that the grand jury indictment and other documents be unsealed by the court. The names of the five alleged coconspirators weren’t included in the document the defense released.
The defense attorneys decried the “media frenzy” that has surrounded the case and said that the grand jury indictment reflects a “one-sided, prosecution theory” of the proceedings.
“It is plainly unfair to Mr. Jackson to saturate the media, again, with only the prosecution’s view of this case, particularly while Mr. Jackson is subject to the constraints of the protective order,” Cochran wrote.
The California Supreme Court said earlier this week that it will not consider arguments from news organizations trying to end the gag order, including The Associated Press.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty to child molestation, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiracy.