Jackson accuser’s mom made similar claims in 2001

[b]Jackson accuser’s mom made similar claims in 2001[/b] 10/12/04 By DAWN HOBBS NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER The mother of the boy who has accused Michael Jackson of molestation and false imprisonment made the same allegations against her husband three years ago, according to documents obtained by the News-Press on Monday. In a Los Angeles Police Department report in November 2001, the mother told police she observed her husband inappropriately touching her daughter when she was 3 or 4 years old: “The victim was emotionally distraught during this interview and could not provide any other pertinent information regarding this incident,” the report states. The father subsequently pleaded no contest to charges of domestic violence and later child cruelty. As part of the plea agreement, false imprisonment charges against him were dropped. No child molestation charges were filed against him. The couple were subsequently divorced. Mr. Jackson’s defense lawyers will likely attempt to use portions of this information to try to discredit the mother when she testifies during Mr. Jackson’s child molestation trial, scheduled to begin in January. The defense may try to show that she has a history of making false accusations. However, prosecutors would likely assert that accusations that preceded her divorce have nothing to do with the charges Mr. Jackson faces and may object to testimony about the mother’s past. Mr. Jackson pleaded not guilty in April to child molestation and conspiracy charges. The prosecution alleges Mr. Jackson and several associates conspired to abduct and falsely imprison the boy and his family while they made a video in support of Mr. Jackson. The singer had just been the focus of a British documentary that tarnished his reputation. A gag order bars attorneys from speaking with the media about the case. But lead defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau provided a possible preview of his strategy when he questioned the mother, referred to by the court as Jane Doe, during a pretrial hearing last month. During that hearing Mr. Mesereau asked whether it was correct that she had also accused her ex-husband of child molestation and false imprisonment. But Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville stopped the line of questioning after the objections of Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen. Ms. Doe offered few details in her testimony that day about Mr. Jackson’s alleged conspiracy to abduct and falsely imprison her and her children. She also had difficulty understanding Mr. Mesereau’s questions, needing them repeated numerous times, and said the questions were triggering flashbacks. That day Mr. Zonen said in court that the high-profile case had caused Ms. Doe so many problems that the family has been relocated. The News-Press later learned that the family has been moved several times. In a declaration dated March 8, 2004, Ms. Doe requested that portions of her divorce file be sealed: “I am concerned that this case will become the circus-like atmosphere that the Michael Jackson case has become and that everything that is said and filed will find its way back to the children. The children have been through enough. The press sometimes blocks entry to our home, preventing us from going in and out. My children have been followed an videotaped without my permission. I do not want it to become worse.” The volatile family relationship finally ended in divorce in April with a restraining order against the father. In the police documents, the mother details a history of alleged abuse including “head injuries, holding her head under water, making her stand outside naked, and throwing (her) little dog against a wall.” She also alleged that when her ex-husband was released from jail an unknown man outside her apartment threatened “that if she did not shut up, her children would not see her again and she would be killed.” The defense would likely use these accusations against the woman because she also testified last month that one of “Jackson’s people” had warned her that her life was in danger and encouraged her to flee to Brazil with her family. Source: http://news.newspress.com/topsports/101204jackson.htm