Evidence on Jacko's Accuser's Mom Allowed
Saturday, February 26, 2005
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SANTA MARIA, Calif. — Jurors in Michael Jackson's (search) child molestation trial will be allowed to hear evidence that the accuser's mother had made allegations of improper touching against store security guards, a judge ruled Friday.
Attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. (search) made the allegations during motions on whether evidence could be admitted about the family's lawsuit against J.C. Penney (search).
The family claimed in a lawsuit that they were beaten by guards and held against their will and that the mother was groped, after Jackson's young accuser left the store with clothes that had not been paid for.
Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville (search) said he will allow testimony about the case, especially as it pertains to the mother's credibility. But he said the defense would not be allowed to refer to the boy as a shoplifter.
Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old former cancer patient at his Neverland ranch, plying him with alcohol, and conspiring to hold him and his family captive.
Mesereau said that after the mother received a $150,000 settlement from J.C. Penney and Tower Records, another defendant in the case, she immediately accused her husband of abusing her and filed for divorce.
The woman then accused her ex-husband of inappropriately touching her daughter, Mesereau said.
The attorney also said the woman testified in the J.C. Penney case that her husband had never hit her, but alleged in her divorce that he had beaten his family for years. That was perjury, Mesereau said.
Mesereau also said the mother had her son ask celebrities for money and spent some of the funds on cosmetic surgery.
In other news, a 74-year-old woman who had suffered a massive heart attack died at a Santa Maria hospital after being moved out of a trauma room to make way for Jackson, the patient's family said.
Jury selection in Jackson's child molestation trial had to be temporarily postponed Feb. 15 when the pop star was taken to Marian Medical Center, complaining of flu symptoms.
When Jackson arrived, Manuela Gomez Ruiz was moved from the primary trauma room and taken off a machine ventilator, with her breathing assisted manually by hand pump, until she was relocated to a smaller room nearby, her family told ABC News.
The larger room was kept for Jackson, the family said.
When Ruiz was moved to a smaller room, the family said equipment had to be crammed into the room. They also were limited to two visitors at a time. Once those visitors were in the room they could not leave and let other family members in because the hospital restricted movement in the hallways after Jackson arrived, the family said.
"This was the last time we might be able to talk with our grandma. They took that from us," Marcos Meraz, one of Ruiz's grandsons, told ABC News.
The family has hired an attorney to sue both the hospital and Jackson, the network reported.
There are also reports that Jackson is getting special treatment in the Santa Maria courthouse, such as his own private bathroom. The whole building is supposedly shut down when Jackson enters and leaves the building. Security around the courthouse is extraordinarily tight even by celebrity-trial standards, FOX News has learned.
Jackson arrived at the courthouse Friday morning with his attorney. Monday morning at 8:30 a.m. PST, both sides will get their chance to give opening statements. District Attorney Tom Sneddon (search) is expected to give the opening statement for the prosecution.
Jury selection for the trial was completed Thursday when four men and four women were sworn in as alternates who would step in if there is a problem with any of the 12 regular jurors chosen earlier in the week.
The jury is mostly white and Hispanic; the alternate panel includes one black man.
Jury selection had been expected to last several weeks, but was completed Thursday, the sixth court day. There were two week-long breaks in the process because of the death of an attorney's sister and Jackson's hospitalization with flu-like symptoms.
Also Friday, prosecutors said they would show the documentary called "Living with Michael Jackson," in which the singer is shown holding hands with his accuser and saying he allowed children to sleep in his bed, but not for any sexual purpose.
Both sides also agreed to meet Saturday for a joint interview with a former attorney who represented the alleged victim's mother. What the attorney might talk about was not disclosed.
FOX News legal analyst Jim Hammer contributed to this report.
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