GMA: Accuser Drank Alcohol in front of Mother, Jackson Not Present

[i]The following is a transcript of the Jackson segment which aired today, June 24 2004 on ABC’s Good Morning America:[/i] [b]Good Morning America[/b] Jessica Yellin June 24, 2004 JESSICA YELLIN: For the first time, ABC News has learned how Michael Jackson could respond to some of the most explosive charges against him, charges that he provided alcohol to a minor and that he conspired to silence his accuser’s family by keeping them virtual prisoners at Neverland and for a week in a hotel room. And ABC News has learned that a likely focus will be the accuser’s mother, questioning both, her credibility and her motives. At the heart of the case is alcohol. Prosecutors allege that Michael Jackson provided liquor to the 12 year old accuser with an intent to commit molestation. Now sources familiar with Jackson’s side of the case say he adamantly denies giving liquor to the boy or knowingly being present while he was drinking. In addition, those sources claim there are witnesses who can testify that the accuser and his siblings were often drinking at Neverland when Jackson wasn’t even on the premises. And more than that. They claim that the boy’s mother was often present while the kids were drinking, and she did nothing to stop it. DANA COLE: If the mother is present, that would certainly cause a jury to think (A) What’s the big deal? or ( How could we possibly blame Michael Jackson for something that is being done in front of the kids’ own mother? JESSICA YELLIN: And there’s more from Jackson’s side of the story. Jackson’s associates are also accused of conspiring to imprison the alleged victim’s family, both at Neverland and at this hotel [Country Inn & Suites] at Calabasas, a suburb of Los Angeles. But sources say they expect Jackson’s Team to try to paint a very different picture — that it was the mother who asked to be put up at Calabasas so she could look for a new house. They say the mother wanted to hide after her son appeared in the controversial Martin Bashir documentary on Michael Jackson. We’ve also learned that friends of Jackson claim that not only did the mother come and go from that hotel at will, but that she went on a shopping spree, all on Michael Jackson’s dime. DANA COLE: You consent to go with someone, then it’s clearly not an abduction. JESSICA YELLIN: Was it abduction or a generous trip? That will be left for a jury to decide. Now sources close to the accuser’s family insist the mother was not free to come and go in Calabasas, and they categorically deny she knew about or saw her kids drinking. In fact, they say when she learned about the drinking, she wanted to separate her kids from Michael Jackson’s reach. Source: ABC News / Complexity :nav Read [url=http://forum.mjeol.com/index.php?showtopic=17699]FULL ARTICLE[/url] :camera See[url=http://site.mjeol.com/modules/mydownloads/singlefile.php?cid=15&lid=170]Video[/url]