CALIFORNIA - Michael Jackson, who is awaiting a verdict in his child molestation trial, has been taken to a hospital near his home for treatment of a back problem, a spokeswoman said.
Spokeswoman Raymone Bain told reporters outside Cottage Hospital that Jackson, who had been suffering from back problems throughout his four-month trial, had returned because of a flare-up in his condition.
A hospital spokeswoman declined to comment.
Jackson, 46, has appeared to be in frail health at times during the trial and seems to have lost weight. He has made repeated visits to hospitals during the trial.
In March, on the second day of testimony by his young accuser, Jackson failed to show up in court, prompting Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney S. Melville to issue a warrant for his arrest. Jackson showed up after an hour, walking slowly, wearing pyjama pants and a jacket, and complaining of back pain.
He also made a trip to the emergency room in February, suffering from a flu-like illness that delayed jury selection for a week.
On Friday, jurors ended their first hours of deliberations in Jackson's trial after hearing duelling closing arguments that portrayed him as either a sexual predator or the naive victim of a family of hardened liars.
The jurors, due to resume deliberations on Monday, will weigh the charges until they reach verdicts on all 10 criminal counts or find themselves deadlocked.
They will have to consider testimony from some 140 witnesses and more than 600 items of evidence.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty to molesting his accuser in February or March of 2003, plying him with alcohol in order to abuse him, and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He faces more than two decades in prison if convicted on all charges.
- REUTERS
Michael Jackson in hospital with back pain
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