From combined dispatches
LOS ANGELES — A California grand jury investigating child-molestation accusations indicted Michael Jackson yesterday, the second set of abuse charges against the pop star in less than six months.
“Yes, he was indicted. We don’t know anything about the date of trial,” publicist A.D. King told Agence France-Presse by telephone.
The singer, 45, was indicted by a Santa Barbara Country grand jury and is due to appear for arraignment on April 30, the MSNBC cable network reported, citing unnamed Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department sources.
A Santa Barbara County court spokesman declined to confirm the indictment to Reuters news agency. ABC, NBC and CNN also reported that Mr. Jackson has been indicted.
In a separate case, Mr. Jackson was arrested in November on charges he molested a 12-year-old boy about a year ago in Santa Barbara County, north of Los Angeles.
Mr. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges, which consisted of seven counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and two counts of plying him with alcohol to seduce him. This new grand jury indictment brings additional charges.
According to Reuters, Santa Barbara prosecutors presented evidence to the grand jury related to accusations that Mr. Jackson sexually molested a boy seen in a British documentary that was filmed partly at his Neverland Valley Ranch in Santa Barbara.
In 13 days of testimony in Santa Barbara under extraordinary secrecy, the grand jury heard from a psychologist, Mr. Jackson’s accuser, and the accuser’s mother and father, MSNBC said.
The grand jury heard this second set of charges in secret with no defense lawyers present, to determine if there was enough evidence to go to trial.
Mr. Jackson has dismissed the accusations as “a big lie” aimed at extorting money.
Earlier yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reported that California prosecutors had been considering charging some of Mr. Jackson’s associates with conspiracy and obstruction of justice on suspicion of threatening the family of the young accuser.
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