Jury selection to begin in Michael Jackson trial

Michael Jackson will be introduced to some 300 prospective jurors in court today, launching a trial which could see one of the world’s most recognised faces jailed for years.

The self-styled King of Pop is charged with a 10-count indictment of child molestation which includes allegations of “overt acts” including false imprisonment and extortion.

In a court-approved video statement released on his website, Jackson, 46, branded the accusations “disgusting and false”.

He demanded his day in court, adding: “I will be acquitted and vindicated when the truth is told.”

Graphic details of grand jury testimony were leaked earlier this month to thesmokinggun.com and US network ABC News, despite the efforts of Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville to keep the 1,900 page transcript secret.

His now 15-year-old accuser claims he was lying on the bed with Jackson when the singer spoke to him about masturbation and starting “rubbing” him.

ABC News has also cited documents which claim Jackson showed his alleged victim pornography on a computer.

If anyone asked what they were doing when they were alone together they should say they were watching The Simpsons, the pop star allegedly said.

Further evidence suggests Jackson gave the boy and his younger brother alcohol in coke cans.

Jury selection set to begin today could last up to a month as lawyers screen as many as 750 prospective jurors.

The pop icon’s trial could then last up to five months and while court sessions will not be televised, media organisations are gearing up for blanket coverage in an echo of the OJ Simpson murder trial of 1995.

If convicted, father-of-three Jackson faces a maximum 21 years in prison.

The would-be jurors will come face to face with the singer in groups of 150. They will be given seven-page questionnaires about the case and told to return next week.

Judge Melville will then question them individually as prosecution and defence teams work to agree on a final panel of 12, with eight reserves.

Opening statements are weeks away, but Jackson’s presence at the Santa Maria court is expected to draw hundreds of fans and reporters.

The investigation was triggered by British documentary Living with Michael Jackson, presented by Martin Bashir and broadcast in February 2003 on ITV.

During the interview Jackson admitted, and staunchly defended, letting boys sleep in his bedroom.

Charges were brought nine months later after police raided his sprawling fairytale estate.

When a warrant was issued Jackson turned himself in to Santa Barbara police and was handcuffed under the glare of the world’s media. He was released on bail of $3m (€2.3m).

“Erotic” material, including pictures of nude children, seized from Jackson’s Neverland ranch, will be shown to jurors, as will Bashir’s documentary.

The Jackson team claim the alleged victim and his family are “flat-out liars”. The teenager will testify in open court.

Jackson, a former child star who released one of the best-selling pop albums of all time, Thriller, was accused of molesting a young boy in a separate case in 1994. Jackson and the boy’s family settled out of court and the entertainer was never arrested or charged.