Jackson sex abuse cases to be revived in US court

TWO men who made sexual abuse accusations against Michael Jackson in a documentary are to get their day in court.

Wade Robson, 40, and James Safechuck, 45, detailed years of alleged abuse by Jackson in 2019 film Leaving Neverland, but their attempt to sue the singer’s estate was dismissed in 2020 as a judge ruled his companies did not have a duty of care towards them.

But in a unanimous ruling on Friday, the Californian Court of Appeal ruled the pair can have their case against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures heard by a jury. The ruling said: ‘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.’

Vince Finaldi, acting for the two men, said had they not been

‘It would have set a dangerous precedent’

allowed to bring their case ‘it would have set a dangerous precedent that endangered children’.

Jonathan Steinsapir, a lawyer for Jackson’s estate, said they are ‘fully confident that Michael is innocent of these allegations’.

Mr Safechuck claims Jackson began sexually abusing him when he was ten years old in 1988 and continued for four years. Mr Robson alleges the molestation against him began in 1990 when he was seven and continued for seven years. The case is expected to come to court next year.

Jackson, who died in 2009, twice faced criminal charges into his alleged sexual abuse of boys. The first case reached an out-of-court settlement for $20million in 1994 and he was acquitted of the second in 2005.