Crime & Justice

Sexual abuse cases against two Michael Jackson companies reopened

Los Angeles, United States, Aug 18 (EFE).- The cases of two men who accused Michael Jackson of sexually abusing them when they were children were reopened Friday by a California appeals court.

According to information from local media, three judges of the Court of Appeals for the Second District of California ruled in favor of the plaintiffs against MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc., two businesses in which the “King of Pop” was the sole shareholder.

Plaintiffs Wade Robson and James Safechuck said Jackson sexually abused them for years and that employees of those companies were complicit in the abuse.

They also said these companies had a responsibility to protect them and that they did not take the necessary measures to do so.

This is the second time the case has been reopened and it was thanks to a new California law that expanded the time scope of sexual assault cases, allowing the court to retake it.

In April 2021, a judge had determined that the singer’s companies had no responsibility to protect minors and that they should not legally respond to these complaints, adding that the owner had died in 2009.

But the court ruled Friday that the singer’s corporation was not excused from the responsibility to protect children because the perpetrator of the abuse was also the owner of the company.

Both Robson and Safechuck remained silent for years until their testimonies came to light in 2019 through the controversial HBO documentary series “Leaving Neverland,” which explores the sexual abuse allegations against the artist and the alleged tactics he used to win over families’ trust.

Jackson’s estate lawyer Jonathan Steinsapir said in a statement that they continued to trust the singer’s innocence and added that the plaintiffs are motivated “solely by money.” EFE

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