US pop icon Michael Jackson walked out of court a free man yesterday after he was cleared of all charges in his sex abuse trial.
Jackson gripped the hand of his lead attorney, Tom Mesereau, and dabbed at his face with a tissue as the verdicts were read to a courtroom packed with reporters and about three dozen fans of the entertainer (46), many of whom broke into prayers or sobs.
Jackson, who looked expressionless and gaunt as he left the court, refused comment but blew a kiss to waiting fans.
He faced nearly two decades in prison if convicted on 10 counts of lewd acts with a child, giving a minor alcohol, and conspiring to commit child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment.
Outside the courthouse, the verdict, which was broadcast around the world, triggered a frenzy among the hundreds of fans who camped there for more than a week awaiting word on Jackson's fate. They hugged each other, cried, threw confetti and set free white doves.
Jackson's defence team left the court without speaking to hundreds of reporters gathered outside.
The case against Jackson was sparked by a February 2003 television documentary in which the singer was shown holding hands with his accuser and defending his practice of sharing a bed with young boys.
The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for seven days before acquitting Jackson, a former child star who reached his peak in the 1980s with Thriller, among the best-selling albums of all time.
Jurors had to consider testimony by 140 witnesses and sift through some 600 items of evidence but they appeared to have had little difficulty reaching their unanimous decision.
"I think we all just looked at the evidence and pretty much agreed," said a woman (79)
who served on the jury and was identified only by her juror number.
Other jurors told reporters they were unmoved by Jackson's star power. "One of the first things we decided is we had to look at him like an individual, not as a celebrity," said the jury foreman (63).
The prosecution case rested heavily on Jackson's accuser - now 15 - who testified the pop icon molested him at least twice after nights of heavy drinking and porn viewing at Jackson's Neverland estate in central California.
The prosecution was also allowed to bring in testimony from a number of young men who claimed they had been molested by Jackson when they were boys in cases going back 10 years.
Prosecutor Tom Sneddon, who has been vilified by Jackson's supporters for what they see as a decade-long vendetta against the entertainer, defended the decision to charge Jackson.
"We did the right thing for the right reasons," he told a news conference. "My past history with Mr. Jackson had absolutely, unequivocally nothing to do with the present case," he said.
Defence attorneys argued Jackson's accuser invented the molestation at the urging of his mother. They portrayed her as a fraud who targeted celebrities. Jurors indicated they had difficulty with the mother's credibility.
Jackson's defence team called on one of the singer's best-known young friends - Home Alonestar Macaulay Culkin - who testified the molestation accusations were ridiculous.
A posting on Michael Jackson's website, www.mjjsource.com, showed a hand giving the V for victory sign as the words "The truth runs marathons" scrolled across the screen.