Ghosts of past cases haunt Jackson as defence slugs it out

A little over two weeks ago, Michael Jackson looked as if he was sailing towards an acquittal in his trial on child-molestation charges.

The family accusing him of abusing their 13-year-old son was vague on the details, contradictory, unsupported by much corroborating evidence and happy to admit a history of lying, even under oath. Now things look considerably dicier for the 46-year-old in the wake of a single ruling which allowed the prosecution to present evidence of prior claims of molestation even though they do not pertain directly to the charges he now faces.

One witness after another has come forward to give dramatic descriptions of a rich and famous man who literally could not keep his hands off pre-teen boys.

The son of an ex-Neverland maid recounted fondling sessions. A former security guard described seeing a naked Jackson kissing 11-year-old Jordy Chandler's body and putting the boy's penis in his mouth.

Another former maid said she had seen Jackson kiss and grope child actor Macaulay Culkin.

A former major domo corroborated the story, saying he was once called to serve chips at 3am, only to stumble on Jackson with his hands in the boy's trousers. "I was shocked. I almost dropped the fries," Phillip LeMarque told the court.

The defence, has had to work fast to cast serious doubt on every claim and hope the jury does not remain haunted by the testimonies.

The defence does have a certain amount of material to play with. Lead lawyer Tom Mesereau used every opportunity to suggest the witnesses bore obvious grudges against Jackson and wanted to get even. He pointed to flaws in testimonies - many initially gave depositions in 1993, before Chandler dropped charges following a multimillion-dollar out-of-court settlement.

He made sure the jury heard of every tabloid deal they made. Observers were impressed, but it is unclear whether it will be enough.

As the week wore on, he was challenged by the sheer number of witnesses coming forward to allege sex acts. It was hardest to discredit Jason Francia, whose account of alleged molestation was intensely emotional. Mesereau has to make a decision. Either seek to persuade the jury that every witness is lying or argue that whatever Jackson did in the past, the only thing that matters is whether he abused Gavin Arviso, the person at the heart of the case. Jackson denies all wrongdoing.

- INDEPENDENT