Before his death on June 25, 2009, the Smooth Criminal hitmaker was the subject of multiple sexual abuse accusations, which began in 1993. At the time, the Los Angeles Police Department launched a probe into allegations that he molested children, including a 13-year-old boy named Jordan Chandler.
The teen’s family sued Jackson in September 2013, accusing the pop star of repeatedly “committing sexual battery” on the child. In response, Jackson’s team claimed the lawsuit was an attempt to extort the singer for $20million.
In December of the same year, the songwriter’s then-estranged sibling La Toya Jackson purported the sexual abuse allegations were “true.”
“This is very difficult for me,” La Toya claimed at a press conference in Tel Aviv. “Michael is my brother. … But I cannot, and I will not, be a silent collaborator of his crimes against small, innocent children.”
The mounting accusations soon prompted the Thriller singer to deliver a four-minute statement from his Neverland Ranch in Los Olivos, saying, “I am not guilty of these allegations, but if I am guilty of anything, it is of giving all that I have to give to help children all over the world. It is of loving children of all ages and races. It is of gaining sheer joy from seeing children with their innocent and smiling faces. It is of enjoying through them the childhood that I missed myself.”
Michael added, “If I am guilty of anything, it is of believing what God said about little children: ‘Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for such is the kingdom of heaven.'”
The iconic performer reached a civil settlement with the Chandler family out of court for a reported $25million.
The allegations, however, did not stop there. Jason Francia, whose mother worked as a housekeeper for the singer, claimed he was molested by Michael, bringing the total number of alleged victims to five. The other three boys who accused him of abuse were Wade Robson, Gavin Arvizo, and Jimmy “James” Safechuck.
Two of the alleged victims, Robson and James, sued Michael’s estate and companies in 2013, but the filings were dismissed several times. Their allegations were featured in the two-part documentary Leaving Neverland, which aired in 2019.
In 2023, a California appeals court revived both lawsuits and allowed them to proceed to trial against MJJ Productions Inc. and MJJ Ventures Inc.
The sexual abuse claims flared up again after the Cascio siblings sued Michael’s estate and companies in February, alleging years of sexual abuse. The complaint also alleged child s-x trafficking, breach of contract, fraud, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The siblings are seeking financial damages and a ruling to void an agreement they claim Michael’s employees coerced them into signing under false pretenses to silence them about the “years of abuse they endured.”
In response to the filing, Michael’s estate attorney Marty Singer wrote in a statement, “The Cascios are the epitome of unreliable sources. Their stories have repeatedly shifted and changed to suit whatever their current agenda happens to be.”