Michael Jackson lawsuits alleging sexual abuse against boys revived by appeals court
Two men who allege Michael Jackson sexually abused them when they were boys should not have had their cases dismissed, judges at a US court have said.
Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who claim Jackson abused them for years, will now be allowed to pursue lawsuits against companies owned by the late singer.
It’s the second time the lawsuits – which were brought by Robson in 2013 and Safechuck in 2014 – have been brought back after dismissal.
Both men detailed their claims of abuse in the 2019 HBO documentary Leaving Neverland.
James Safechuck is pictured aged 10 with Jackson
Robson, now a 40-year-old choreographer, met Jackson when he was five years old. He went on to appear in three Jackson music videos.
His lawsuit alleged that Jackson molested him over a seven-year period.
Safechuck, now 45, said in his suit that he was nine when he met Jackson while filming a Pepsi commercial. He said Jackson called him often and lavished him with gifts before moving on to sexually abusing him.
A three-judge panel from California’s 2nd District Court of Appeal has now found that their lawsuits should not have been dismissed by a lower court.
Legal row over duty to protect children
A judge who dismissed the suits in 2021 found that the corporations – MJJ Productions Inc and MJJ Ventures Inc – who were both named as defendants in the case, could not be expected to function like the Boy Scouts or a church where a child in their care could expect their protection.
But the latest decision means that Robson and Safechuck can now validly claim the corporations had a responsibility to protect them.
Jackson, who died in 2009, was the sole owner and only shareholder in both companies.
In their report, the higher court judges wrote: “A corporation that facilitates the sexual abuse of children by one of its employees is not excused from an affirmative duty to protect those children merely because it is solely owned by the perpetrator of the abuse.”
They added: “It would be perverse to find no duty based on the corporate defendant having only one shareholder. And so, we reverse the judgments entered for the corporations.”
‘We remain fully confident Michael is innocent’
Jonathan Steinsapir, attorney for the Jackson estate, said they were “disappointed” by the decision.
Mr Steinsapir told The Associated Press: “Two distinguished trial judges repeatedly dismissed these cases on numerous occasions over the last decade because the law required it.
“We remain fully confident that Michael is innocent of these allegations, which are contrary to all credible evidence and independent corroboration, and which were only first made years after Michael’s death by men motivated solely by money.”
Vince Finaldi, an attorney for Robson and Safechuck, said in an email that they were “pleased but not surprised” that the court overturned the previous judge’s “incorrect rulings in these cases, which were against California law and would have set a dangerous precedent that endangered children throughout state and country. We eagerly look forward to a trial on the merits”.
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Mr Steinsapir had argued for the defence in July that it does not make sense that employees would be legally required to stop the behaviour of their boss, saying: “It would require low-level employees to confront their supervisor and call them paedophiles.”
He also said the parents of the boys had not expected company staff to monitor Jackson’s actions.
Holly Boyer, another attorney for Robson and Safechuck, countered that the boys “were left alone in this lion’s den by the defendant’s employees. An affirmative duty to protect and to warn is correct”.
In a concurring opinion issued with Friday’s decision, one of the panellists, Associate Justice John Shepard Wiley Jr, wrote that “to treat Jackson’s wholly-owned instruments as different from Jackson himself is to be mesmerised by abstractions. This is not an alter ego case. This is a same ego case”.
The judges did not rule on the truth of the allegations themselves. That will be the subject of a forthcoming jury trial in Los Angeles.
Jackson always denied any allegations he was involved in abusing underage boys.
His Neverland Ranch, in California, was sold in December 2020 for $22m (£16m).
Entertainment
Matthew Perry’s parents say doctor is ‘among most culpable of all’ ahead of first sentencing over star’s death
Matthew Perry’s parents have criticised the “jackals” involved in dealing drugs to the star – and accused a doctor of being “among the most culpable of all” ahead of his sentencing today.
Emotional victim impact statements by Perry‘s mother Suzanne and stepfather Keith Morrison, and father John and stepmother Debbie, have been submitted to the US district court for Central California ahead of Salvador Plasencia’s hearing.
They say “no one alive and in touch with the world” could have been unaware of the Friends star’s struggles with addiction, and that the doctor broke his vows “repeatedly” to “feed on the vulnerability of our son”.
Plasencia, 44, is the first of five people to be sentenced in connection with the 54-year-old’s death, and has pleaded guilty to illegally selling him large amounts of ketamine. He is not accused of selling the dose that killed the actor, but had been supplying the drug to him in the weeks beforehand.
Salvador Plasencia appeared in court to change his plea to guilty earlier this year. Pic: Reuters/Mike Blake
Perry was found in his hot tub by his assistant in October 2023. A medical examiner later ruled that ketamine and other factors had caused him to lose consciousness and drown.
In their letter filed to the court, Suzanne and Keith Morrison share their grief, saying they feel a “confusion of emotions”.
Anger “seethes away down deep, whether you want it to or not”, they say, detailing how they play out “unalterable events, over and over and over” in their minds, “as if it could make any difference now”.
They also write about the impact Perry’s death has had on others, saying they often find Friends mementos, as well as flowers and notes and other tributes, left at his grave.
The star’s story “moved so many people”, they add. “And he wanted, needed, deserved a third act. It was in the planning. And then, those jackals.”
Perry was best known for playing Chandler Bing in Friends. Pic: Everett/ Shutterstock
‘This doctor conspired to break his most important vows’
Saying they find Plasencia’s actions “truly hard to understand”, they tell the judge: “I believe the man you are going to sentence today is among the most culpable of all…
“Why become a doctor? To cure the sick of course. To heal people. To save lives.”
Crimes can be easier to understand in some circumstances, they say. “Maybe in the heat of passion, or because that person makes one very bad decision… Or some drug dealer, bad to the bone, who takes the calculated risk of getting caught and spending many years in prison.
“But… a doctor? Who trades on respect, and trust? And not just one bad decision. No one alive and in touch with the world at all could have been unaware of Matthew’s struggles.
“But this doctor conspired to break his most important vows, repeatedly, sneaked through the night to meet his victim in secret. For what, a few thousand dollars? So he could feed on the vulnerability of our son.”
Read more:
The drug network exposed by Perry’s death
Obituary: The one who made everyone laugh
Matthew Perry: A life in pictures
Pic: Reuters
‘You don’t deserve to hear our feelings’
Addressing Plasencia directly in their statement, John and Debbie Perry say: “You don’t deserve to hear our feelings. How you devastated our family contributing to the loss of Matthew, our only son.”
They describe Perry as a “warm, loving man” and say his recovery counted on Plasencia “saying NO”.
Their letter continues: “Your motives? I can’t imagine. A doctor whose life is devoted to helping people?
“How long did you possibly see supplying Matthew countless doses without his death to eventually follow? Did you care? Did you think?”
Prosecutors are asking Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett to sentence Plasencia to three years in prison.
John and Debbie Perry have asked the court to extend the sentence beyond the mandatory period.
Ahead of sentencing, Plasencia’s lawyers have described him as a man who rose out of poverty to become a doctor beloved by his patients, and say his selling to Perry was “reckless” and “the biggest mistake of his life”.
In their sentencing memo, they say “remorse cannot begin to capture the pain, regret and shame that Mr Plasencia feels for the tragedy that unfolded and that he failed to prevent”.
However, they say Plasencia has already lost his medical licence and career, and a prison sentence is “neither necessary nor warranted”.
The other four people charged in connection with Perry’s death have also accepted plea deals and are due to be sentenced over the next few months.
They are: dealer Jasveen Sangha, also known as “the Ketamine Queen”, Perry’s assistant Kenneth Iwamasa, another doctor, Mark Chavez, and Erik Fleming, an associate of the actor.
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