Michael Jackson will tell the jury in his child molestation case how his teenage accuser ran wild at his Neverland Valley ranch, while his mother planned to extort money, the popstar's lawyer said today.
Concluding his opening statements, attorney Tom Mesereau said his client was the naive victim of a scheming family and that there was no DNA evidence of the sexual abuse charged by the prosecution.
Although Mesereau stopped short of saying Jackson would take the witness stand in his own defense, he indicated at least three times that jurors would hear from Jackson directly during the trial, which could last up to six months.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's going to be a long trial and you are going to hear lots of evidence," Mesereau said. "We are extremely confident that when you do, you are going to find Michael Jackson absolutely not guilty of any of this."
Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting a then 13-year-old boy at his Neverland estate in February and March of 2003, not long after a controversial documentary aired showing Jackson holding hands with his accuser and saying that he shared his bed with boys.
Prosecutors today called their first witness, Martin Bashir, the British journalist whose controversial documentary "Living with Michael Jackson" is at the center of the case.
The court was viewed the documentary and Jackson, who sat in court wearing a dark suit with a gold armband, could be seen nodding his head to the beat as some of his past hits.
Mesereau told jurors that Jackson was not home on some of the days that prosecutors charge he molested the boy. "A lot of the dates you heard the prosecutor identify, he wasn't even near the place," he said.
The real aim of Jackson's accusers was to use the criminal case to strengthen a civil lawsuit against the entertainer, he said.
The lawyer said Jackson would detail his growing suspicions about his accuser's family and tell how the boy and his younger brother broke into his wine cellar and got drunk during a stay at Neverland. They also rifled through a briefcase containing pornography.
"Michael Jackson will tell you one time at Neverland he got a very bad feeling about these people," Mesereau said as he recounted an incident during which the boy's mother had her children hold hands with the pop star and urged them to kneel and pray "with our daddy, Michael."
Mesereau said that the mother of Jackson's accuser was out to get money and had seen her son's appearance in the documentary as an opportunity.
She concocted the abuse allegations "when she realized Mr. Jackson wasn't going to be there to take care of her family for the rest of her life."
Prosecutors have said that Jackson's popstar persona hid the darker side of a man who lured boys to his home and plied them with alcohol and pornography.
Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon described Jackson as presiding over Neverland as a kind of haven for adolescent boys who were allowed to skip school, drink alcohol, view pornography and stay up all night.
In that environment, he said Jackson brought the boy into his bedroom. He gave the boy - a cancer survivor with just one kidney - wine, vodka and bourbon, showed him pornography and then molested him, Sneddon said.
Jackson was accompanied in court by his mother, Katherine, and his brother, Randy. A small group of about 10 supporters stood vigil outside.