Jackson guards were scared

2005-05-17 07:48

California - A policeman testified on Monday that two former Neverland guards failed to report claims Michael Jackson performed oral sex on a young boy because they feared for their safety.

Defence lawyers at the child-sex trial did score vital points as other witnesses undercut charges the "King of Pop" conspired to hold his now 15-year-old accuser captive two years ago.

But they suffered a serious setback when Detective Russell Birchim brought up allegations Jackson fondled another boy more than a decade earlier.

He acknowledged two of Jackson 's security guards told him in 1994 they might have information about the star "kissing, fondling and sucking on the penis of a young boy."

Too scared

But Kassim Abdul and Ralph Chacon chose not to come forward officially at the time as they could not be guaranteed access to a United States government witness protection programme, the detective said.

"They expressed concern for their own safety and that of their families," Bircham said as the trial entered its 12th week.

Both former guards have testified at the trial, and Chacon told jurors in April that he saw Jackson in the early 1990s performing oral sex on a 12- or 13-year-old boy who later won a multi-million-dollar settlement from the star.

The guards themselves lost a lawsuit for unlawful dismissal against Jackson after the judge ruled their claims were malicious.

The defence on Monday called a string of witnesses in a bid to blow holes in prosecution claims that the Jackson plotted to hold the family of his current child sex accuser captive in order to silence them.

An orthodontist and a beautician said the accuser's mother never tried to raise the alarm or escape while having her children's braces removed or when she had a body wax.

But a Neverland Ranch maid said the accuser's mother had told her she was being held captive at the estate, while also complaining that three Jackson aides were keeping her away from the pop superstar.

Maria Gomez, who has worked at Neverland for 10 years, said the woman talked "about being held there against her will" and asked "that we help her leave."

The woman also said the aides were "interfering" in her relationship with Jackson, according to Gomez.

But prior to making the claim, the mother told the maid that Jackson had "been a blessing for us and that he was like a father to our children."

Prosecutors claim that Jackson and five aides conspired to hold the family prisoner for three weeks after the February 6, 2003 broadcast of a damaging television documentary in which the star held hands with his future accuser and admitted sharing a bed with him.

Jackson, a 46-year-old father of three, could face 20 years behind bars if convicted on 10 charges that he fondled the 13-year-old cancer survivor, plied him with alcohol and plotted to hold him and his family captive.

- AFP