Jackson 'forced imprisoned boy to withdraw claims'

POP superstar Michael Jackson enticed a young boy, then imprisoned him and his family at his Neverland Ranch and forced them to make a video absolving him of molestation claims, a prosecutor said yesterday.

The fiery court presentation by Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss disclosed for the first time the prosecution's theory of its conspiracy case against Jackson, claiming he panicked after a TV show threatened to destroy his career by linking him with an obsession with young boys.

Mr Auchincloss made his allegation at a hearing in Santa Maria, California, to hear a defence motion to dismiss the case.

"The fact that Mr Jackson rationalised this behaviour on national television was his downfall," Mr Auchincloss said. "It represented the complete and utter ruin of his empire. It made him an international object of loathing and scorn."

Defence lawyer Thomas Mesereau derided the entire prosecution case as "absurd on its face" and demanded dismissal of all charges.

Jackson, aged 45, is charged with committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He is free on bail and scheduled to stand trial on September 13.

Mr Auchincloss, detailing a number of the overt acts in the indictment, which have been kept secret until now, suggested that Jackson actually lured the alleged victim to his bed after the video had been shown on television.

"The person Jackson perceived could put out this public relations fire was John Doe, and his family," the prosecutor said, referring to the alleged victim. "If he could get them on tape describing Mr Jackson as a wonderful person, it would quell this fire."

Mr Auchincloss said Jackson then began to entice the young boy with alcohol.

"He had his private plane land in the middle of the night in Santa Barbara and take John Doe and hisfamily to Neverland," the prosecutor said. "At Neverland, there are late nights, no homework. Do what you want, eat what you want, stay out late - no rules. It's a world of self-indulgence. Ultimately, it gets John Doe to sleep in the bed of Michael Jackson."

He also said that Jackson flew the family to holidays in luxury resorts.

Mr Mesereau ridiculed the assumption that the trips constituted false imprisonment, saying, "The idea that they were imprisoned and forced to fly on private jets to Florida, to socialise with celebrities such as Chris Tucker, is absurd on its face. It would be laughed out of court by a jury."

Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville listened to 90 minutes of arguments and said he would take the matter under submission and issue a written order.

In an earlier motion marked by unusually confrontational language, Jackson's defence team called the investigation of him "breathtaking". They denounced his prosecution on child molestation charges as an effort to "take down a major celebrity."