US: The stepfather of the teenager who has accused Michael Jackson of molestation described yesterday how the family had been both harassed and offered bribes to make a video exonerating the pop star.
The man also noted a marked change in his 13-year-old stepson's behaviour after his last visit to Jackson's Neverland Valley ranch in March 2003, at one point describing the teen as appearing to be "brainwashed".
Jackson (46), has pleaded not guilty to four counts of molestation in February or March 2003 and with plying the boy with alcohol. He is also charged with conspiring to commit child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment. He could face 20 years behind bars if convicted.
The boy's stepfather said there had been no problems with Jackson until after the February 2003 broadcast of a British TV documentary, in which the entertainer was pictured holding hands with his accuser and defending his practice of sleeping with young boys.
After that, he said, the family got numerous phone calls at their Los Angeles home from Jackson aides, sometimes every 15 minutes, pressuring them to sign a contract and make a video praising Jackson.
Testimony from the boy's mother is likely to be crucial to the case. She is expected to tell jurors that she was held against her will at Neverland after the broadcast of the TV documentary.
But the mother has been portrayed by defence attorneys as a swindler who preyed on celebrities and who has a history of making false claims, including some of being groped. - (Reuters)