Jacko Defense Won't Present Rebuttal

SANTA MARIA, Calif. – In a stunning development, Michael Jackson's (search) lawyers decided Friday not to present a defense rebuttal in the pop star's child molestation trial, which means closing arguments could begin as early as Wednesday.

The defense suddenly rested after prosecutors, in a final move, showed the jury a videotape of the accuser telling investigators for the first time in 2003 that he was molested by the pop star.

Judge Rodney S. Melville (search) told jurors they would not need to be in court Tuesday when attorneys will have discussions on jury instructions.

Prior to their decision Friday, defense attorneys had said they planned to call the boy, his mother, a psychologist and an attorney who referred the family to the psychologist.

The jury has heard testimony from over one hundred witnesses since opening statements began on Feb. 28. The prosecution presented more than 80 witnesses, while the defense called 50 before ending its main case this week. Prosecutors then called 15 rebuttal witnesses, some of whom had testified earlier.

The tape offered little that the boy hadn't already testified to on the stand, but he became via video the last witness the jury would see. The courtroom was hushed and when the lights came up jurors were solemn, looking downward. Jackson had no comment as he left.

In the tape, the boy haltingly described the alleged molestation in much of the same language he used in his testimony during the trial. The tape showed the boy, in denim shorts and a blue shirt, slumped in a chair. He occasionally smiled, scratched his arm and fumbled with a button on his shirt.

"He put his hands in my pants. He started masturbating me," the boy told detectives who urged him to tell his story. "I told him I didn't want to do that and he kept on doing it. I told him no."

The interview was conducted with sheriff's investigators in Santa Barbara on July 6, 2003. Investigators made small-talk as they tried to build rapport before pressing him to be forthcoming.

With his head down and frequently pausing, the boy described the alleged molestation in a low voice.

On the tape he said Jackson masturbated him "five or so" times and later clarified under questioning by Sgt. Steve Robel (search) that it was five times or less.

In his witness stand testimony the boy said he could remember Jackson masturbating him twice but there may have been more times. His brother testified to twice seeing Jackson molesting the boy.

In the taped interview he described things that Jackson allegedly said to him, including that boys need to masturbate or they would go crazy.

After that, Robel told the boy, "I guarantee you will feel much better after you get it ... off your chest."

The boy then took a deep breath and after a long pause went on.

"He said that he wanted to show me how to masturbate," the boy said. "I said no. Then he said he could do it for me."

The boy looked down, then resumed haltingly.

"He grabbed me," he said.

Robel asked him where he was grabbed.

"My private area," the boy said, going on to describe the masturbation and saying that Jackson touched him for "a long time."

Asked what Jackson said in response to being told to stop, the boy told Robel, "He said that's OK. It's natural."

The boy said the first molestation occurred after he and Jackson had been drinking at the singer's Neverland ranch (search).

"Toward the last days at Neverland ... he would always have me drink," the boy said.

The accuser, now 15, testified at the start of the trial. The prosecution asked to introduce the tape during its rebuttal case, which began after the defense rested earlier this week.

After lengthy arguments, the judge admitted the tape for limited purposes — to "examine his demeanor and the manner in which he made the disclosures."

Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting the then-13-year-old boy in February or March 2003, giving him wine and conspiring to hold his family captive to get them to rebut a documentary in which the boy appeared with Jackson as the entertainer said he let children into his bed but it was non-sexual.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.