A jury tonight acquitted Michael Jackson of molesting 13-year-old cancer survivor Gavin Arvizo at his Neverland ranch - exonerating the pop star who insisted he was the victim of mother-and-son con artists and a prosecutor with a vendetta.
Jurors also acquitted Jackson of getting the boy drunk and of conspiring to imprison his accuser and the boy's family at the storybook estate - a total legal victory.
Jackson looked straight ahead as the verdicts were read and showed no reaction as he was found not guilty of all counts. As he left court, Jackson held his hand to his heart and blew kisses to the screaming crowd.
He was later escorted by his aides into a black SUV, and made no immediate public statement. Screams of joy rang out among a throng of fans outside the courthouse. Fans jumped up and down, hugged each other and threw confetti in celebration of the news. A woman in the throng released one white dove as each acquittal was announced.
After the verdicts were announced, the judge read a statement from the jury: "We the jury feel the weight of the world's eyes upon us." They asked to be allowed to return to "our private lives as anonymously as we came."
The verdict - reached after about 30 hours of deliberations over seven days - ended a star-studded, four-month trial that offered a global audience a lurid look into the weird world of Michael Jackson and presented jurors with vastly different portraits of him: a man who allegedly preyed on little boys, or the victim of a frame-up by mother-and-son shakedown artists.
During the trial, prosecutors claimed Jackson used his ranch, plying boys with booze and porn before molesting them. Defence lawyers described Jackson as a humanitarian who wanted to protect kids and give them the life he never had while growing up as a child star.
The boy had asked to meet the star when he thought he was dying of cancer. The defence said the family exploited the boy's illness to shake down celebrities, then concocted the charges after realising Jackson was cutting them off from a jet-set lifestyle that included limo rides and stays at luxurious resorts.
Jackson was cleared of all 10 charges, including four counts that he molested the boy in early 2003. Jackson also was charged with providing the boy with wine - "Jesus juice," the pop star called it - and conspiring with members of his inner circle to hold the accuser and his family captive to get them to rebut a damaging documentary.
In the "Living with Michael Jackson" documentary made by a British journalist, Jackson held hands with the boy and acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.
Jackson agreed to take part in the documentary because he hoped it would help his image after years of eccentric behaviour that included transforming his face through plastic surgery. But the airing of the program in February 2003 triggered intense media scrutiny of Jackson's relationship with the boy, as well as calls for investigations.
Authorities interviewed the boy and Jackson was charged before year's end. At the trial, prosecutors would allege that Jackson molested the boy in the weeks after the family helped Jackson record a rebuttal video.