Dancer denies childhood shower with Jackson

Michael Jackson’s lawyers opened their case in his child sex and conspiracy trial by calling a young man who grew up knowing the pop star and denying a claim that he showered with the singer.

The defence opened after Judge Rodney Melville denied its motion for an acquittal. Jackson’s lawyers had argued that the state failed to prove its case, and that prosecution witnesses had “a tendency to self-destruct” on the stand.