Micheal Jackson: New Child Molestation Claim

Michael Jackson died at age 50

 

Wade Robson testified in defense of the Thriller singer in his 2005 child sex abuse trial. A choreographer who had previously testified that Michael Jackson never sexually abused him has now made an about-turn, launching a child molestation claim against the late pop star's estate.

But he now says he was abused by Jackson over a seven-year period when he was a minor.

Jackson's attorney dismissed the claim as "outrageous and pathetic".

"Michael Jackson was a monster and in their hearts every normal person knows it," Mr Robson's lawyer, Henry Gradstein, was quoted as saying in a statement to the AFP news agency.

"He (Mr Robson) collapsed under the stress and sexual trauma of what had happened to him for seven years as a child. He lived with the brainwashing by a sexual predator until the burden of it all crushed him."

According to Mr Gradstein, the alleged victim "started intensive treatment which ultimately led to his ability to come forward".

Australian-born Mr Robson, 30, developed a friendship with Jackson as a child and stayed at the singer's Neverland Ranch home in southern California on several occasions when he was a minor.

He worked with Britney Spears and former boy band 'N Sync in the late 1990s, and appeared as a judge on the US TV dance competition So You Think You Can Dance.

He also appeared as a dancer in Jackson's 1991 music video for the single Black Or White.

His lawyer filed a motion seeking permission to file a late creditor's claim against Jackson's estate on May 1.

A judge must now decide whether Mr Robson can proceed with his claim.

Details of the accusations were filed under seal and it is not known how much Mr Robson is seeking to recoup from Jackson's estate, although his lawyer insists there is no financial motive.

"This is a young man who has testified at least twice under oath over the past 20 years and said in numerous interviews that Michael Jackson never did anything inappropriate to him or with him.

"Now, nearly four years after Michael has passed, this sad and less than credible claim has been made. We are confident that the court will see this for what it is."

In addition to being the first defence witness during the 2005 trial, Mr Robson also spoke favourably about Jackson after the singer's death in June 2009.

Jackson, who was dogged for years by child molestation charges, was acquitted in the trial, but his career never recovered.

He died at the age of 50 of an overdose of the powerful surgical anaesthetic propofol and a cocktail of other sedatives in Los Angeles while rehearsing for his comeback tour in London.

Jackson's doctor Conrad Murray has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison - a verdict he is appealing.

Jackson's family say concert giant AEG Live is guilty of negligence for failing to properly investigate Murray. AEG has denied wrongdoing, saying it did not hire Murray, and a $40bn court battle  is under way.

Michael Jackson died at age 50