Jacko faces nine charges

Pop star Michael Jackson was tonight charged with child sex abuse after allegations that he molested a teenage cancer sufferer at his Neverland ranch.

Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon said Jackson faced nine charges.

He is accused of seven accounts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating liquor to a child for the purpose of committing a felony.

Mr Sneddon said the singer also faced “several special allegations”.

A formal felony criminal complaint was filed against Jackson at a court building in Santa Maria, California.

Five of the counts relate to the period between February 7 and March 10 this year, and the other four to between February 20 and March 10.

Jackson is due to appear before a court in California on January 16, Mr Sneddon said.

After his arrest last month, the one-time King of Pop called the accusations a “big lie”.

Jackson’s Neverland ranch was searched in November after a complaint by a 14-year-old that he had been molested by the star.

Jackson surrendered to police on November 20 and was led into a Santa Barbara sheriff’s office, before having his mug shot taken.

Mr Sneddon said all parties involved in the case had signed stipulations allowing Jackson to travel to England to promote his new album, Number Ones

He added that the pop superstar could travel to the UK only.

Speaking about Jackson, Mr Sneddon said: “We were informed by his representative that he had two contractual agreements that predated the arrest warrant and there would be a substantial financial detriment to him if he did not make these commitments that tie into his new CD.

“The Sheriff and I talked about it and we agreed with counsel for the defence and the court.

“All three parties … signed stipulations to the effect that his passport could be returned this time only, for the date to the (December) 20 through (to January) 5.”

The charging documents specified seven counts alleging lewd or lascivious acts upon a child under 14 and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent.

The alleged molestation and intoxication are believed to have occurred in February and March.

Each count involving lewd or lascivious acts carries potential prison time of three, six or eight years.

At a news conference, Santa Barbara County Attorney Tom Sneddon dismissed the suggestion that the delay in filing charges signalled a weak case. “I want to categorically say that is false,” he said.

He agreed to delay Jackson’s arraignment to January 16 and return Jackson’s passport to allow him to travel to Britain from December 20 to January 6.

The allegations are believed to involve a boy, now 14, who spent nights in Jackson’s bedroom at his estate, which gets its name from the Peter Pan story.

Ten months ago, the boy appeared in a British television documentary holding hands with Jackson, who said the two had slept in the same bedroom but not the same bed. Jackson defended his penchant for holding sleepovers with children, describing the practice as sweet and innocent.

The arrest came just as Jackson released a greatest-hits album, which has had disappointing sales. Jackson’s record sales overall have slumped in recent years, and he has gained more attention for his bizarre behaviour – dangling his infant son from a hotel balcony, radically altering his face through plastic surgery, sharing his bedroom with children – than for his music.

This week, the District Attorney’s office brought in a Hollywood public relations firm to handle the expected crush of media inquiries – a move criticised by the Jackson camp and others as unseemly.

A decade ago, Jackson thwarted Sneddon and escaped prosecution in another molestation case.

He settled out of court with the accuser’s family for a reported 15 million to 20 million, and the boy refused to testify. No charges were ever brought. Jackson later wrote a song attacking Sneddon.

In the month since Jackson’s arrest in the current case, questions have been raised about the credibility of the boy’s family.

In a leaked confidential memo, Los Angeles County child welfare investigators who looked into the case last February said they found no improper behaviour on Jackson’s part. According to the memo, the boy, his mother and siblings praised Jackson and said no abuse occurred.

Prosecutors said they were aware of the finding when they decided to arrest Jackson, and they dismissed its significance.

The boy’s family also filed a lawsuit claiming that the boy, his brother and mother were beaten by shopping mall security guards in 1998 after the boy left a store carrying clothes that had not been paid for. The lawsuit also alleged the mother was sexually assaulted. The family received about £100,000 in settlement.

In addition, the boy’s father pleaded no contest to child cruelty in 2002 and spousal abuse in 2001. The couple are now divorced.

Russell Halpern, an attorney for the father, has said the boy’s mother had a “Svengali-like ability” to make her children lie in testimony.

Jackson and the boy met two years ago through comedy club owner Jamie Masada, who had asked the pop star to cheer up the young cancer victim. At the time, the boy had been given three weeks to live. His spleen and one of his kidneys had been removed because of stomach cancer.

The boy’s current medical condition is unclear. Masada has said his remaining kidney is failing, while Halpern has said the boy is in good condition. The boy’s mother has declined to speak to the media.