A California appeals court has ruled to relaunch the lawsuits filed by Wade Robson and James Safechuck against Michael Jackson, whom they accuse of child sexual abuse.
A California appeals court revives the lawsuits brought by Wade Robson and James Safechuck against Michael Jackson, whom they accuse of sexual abuse when they were children, according to the American magazine People.
Now aged 40 and 45 respectively, the two men confided in 2019 in the HBO documentary Leaving Neverland, about the sexual assaults they allegedly suffered from the King of Pop on his Neverland ranch. , when they were minors.
The first, Wade Robson, claims to have been sexually abused by the singer for seven years, from 1990. The second, James Safechuck, would have had the same experience between 1988 and 1992.
“The truth will eventually triumph”
Between 2013 and 2014, James Safechuck and Wade Robson tried to take the case to court but the lawsuits were ultimately dismissed due to the statute of limitations.
But in 2020, a new law was introduced in California to extend the statute of limitations for charges of child sexual abuse. As a result, three judges from the California Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the reopening of a trial at first instance against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, two companies of which the King of Pop was the sole owner and sole shareholder.
Despite this decision, Jonathan Steinsapir, the singer’s estate lawyer, however, said in a press release, relayed by People, to remain “fully convinced of Michael’s innocence”.
“We are certain that the truth will eventually triumph and that Michael will once again be exonerated,” he said.
Multiple cases without follow-up
Michael Jackson has been repeatedly accused of committing pedophile acts. In 1993, Jordan Chandler, a 13-year-old teenager, filed a complaint in 1993 against the singer for touching. The case was settled out of court for $15 million.
In 2003, Gavin Arvizo also accused the author of Thriller of having abused him then at the age of thirteen. That same year, Michael Jackson was arrested in Santa Barbara, California, and charged with ten counts, including lewd conduct with a minor, conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion involving a minor. .
During this trial, Wade Robson had been called to testify in favor of Michael Jackson. He then explained that he testified under pressure from the singer, who ended up being cleared by the judges of the Californian court in 2005.
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2023-08-19 12:04:00
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