Father’s lawyer: Mom is ‘very vindictive’

Court papers slam Jackson accuser’s dad Father’s lawyer: Mom is ‘very vindictive’ Tuesday, November 25, 2003 Posted: 2:31 AM EST (0731 GMT) LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) — The boy who accuses singer Michael Jackson of molesting him grew up in a turbulent family where violence “was a daily occurrence,” according to court documents filed by the boy’s mother two years ago upon her divorce from the boy’s father. Jackson, who was arrested and booked on suspicion of child molestation last week, is scheduled to be arraigned January 9 in Santa Barbara Superior Court. A single count of child molestation can carry a prison sentence of up to eight years. (Full story) The court documents, filed October 16, 2001, with the Los Angeles Superior Court, included the filing of a temporary restraining order by the boy’s mother against her husband in which she alleged that he “has assaulted or attempted to assault me or another member of my household … caused, threatened or attempted bodily injury to me or another member of my household” and “made me or another member of my household afraid of physical or emotional harm.” She asked that the father of her three children — 11- and 10-year-old boys and a girl, then 15 — “participate in a certified batterer’s program.” The then-33-year-old woman wrote that her 35-year-old husband had “physically grabbed me on or about September 29, 2001, leaving large bruises on my left arm,” threatened her and their children with physical harm and threatened to quit his job to avoid having to pay child support. CNN was not able to reach the father for comment. H. Russell Halpern, who represented the father during the divorce, said the father pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor domestic abuse charges. At the same time, the attorney said the mother is “very vindictive” and “deceitful.” Halpern said his client could potentially be called as a witness for Jackson, to undermine his wife’s and his son’s claims. “The father has told me in the past that his children will say and do whatever their mother tells them to do,” the lawyer told CNN. “In fact, we know that the children have been in the past, in my experience, said things that they had later retracted because they were not true, but were encouraged to say them from the mother.” In the court documents, the mother wrote that her husband entered the apartment while she was on the phone “and pulled the phone off the wall, while demanding to know who I was talking to. When I didn’t respond, he grabbed me by the arms, shook me, pushed me and started hitting me in the head, pulling my hair. When I fell to the ground, he kicked me. “He wanted to know why I was dressed in my work clothes. He said he hated me and hated our kids and that he was disowning us. He said if I ever told anyone about this that he would kill me and the kids would have no mother.” She added that domestic violence was a daily occurrence during their marriage. “However, I was always afraid to tell anyone until I could finally take no more and asked for a divorce. “He has always accused me of having boyfriends and told me I was ugly. He has told me that if I cause him any trouble, he would have one of [his brother’s] people kill me and the kids, and that he has done this before.” The alleged victim in the Jackson case participated in a documentary about the pop star, a source close to the family that is pressing charges against the pop icon told CNN. In June, the boy’s family retained the services of an attorney who took the boy to see a therapist and, after the therapy, referred the case to the Santa Barbara District Attorney’s office. A second source — this one close to the 45-year-old singer — confirmed to CNN that the boy in question was indeed the accuser. British journalist Martin Bashir spent eight months with Jackson’s entourage to produce the documentary, called “Living with Michael Jackson.” In it, Jackson said he allowed children to stay with him in his bedroom, despite a high-profile 1993 investigation into sexual misconduct allegations involving a 13-year-old boy. The boy’s appearance in the documentary caused a stir in February, when it was broadcast. The boy, who was then 12, is a cancer survivor who stayed overnight at Jackson’s Neverland ranch with Jackson in his bedroom. The documentary showed the two holding hands through much of the interview. “Why can’t you share your bed? The most loving thing to do is to share your bed with someone, ” Jackson said in the documentary. “You say, ‘You can have my bed if you want it. Sleep in it. I’ll sleep on the floor. It’s yours.’ I always give the beds to the company.” “It’s not sexual. We’re going to sleep,” he said, adding that he would not mind if his three children slept with an adult whom he knew and trusted. On Monday, Jackson launched a Web site dedicated to countering what he called “a big lie” — the child molestation allegation. Source: http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/11/24/jackson.accuser/