Prosecutors blast Jackson as paedophile, alcoholic

SANTA MARIA - Michael Jackson was portrayed today as a serial paedophile, an alcoholic and a man obsessed with pornography as prosecutors summed up their child sex abuse case with a blistering character assassination of one of the world's best-known entertainers.

In closing arguments at the end of a bitter four-month trial that could send Jackson to prison, deputy district attorney Ron Zonen said the case was "about the exploitation and abuse of a 13-year-old cancer survivor at the hands of an international celebrity."

"Michael Jackson molested (his accuser) and many other boys," he said in a three-hour address to the jury.

But defence lawyer Tom Mesereau launched his closing argument by telling the jury, "There is no way in the world you can find the (accuser and his family) are trustworthy beyond a reasonable doubt."

If that is the case, Mesereau said, "Mr Jackson must be acquitted under our legal system."

"The issue in this case is the life, future, freedom and reputation of Michael Jackson. That is what is about to be placed in your hands," he said.

Zonen said Jackson's accuser, and other young boys befriended by the singer over the years, spent their days at the Neverland Valley ranch running free.

"At night, they entered into Michael Jackson's bedroom, which is a veritable fortress. They entered into the world of the forbidden (where) they learned about human sexuality with someone who was only too willing to be their teacher," the prosecutor said.

Zonen again showed the jury images of the pornographic books and magazines, some of them homoerotic, that police found in raids on Neverland.

"Are you confident with a middle-aged man getting in bed with a 13-year-old boy as he possesses material like this that excites him?" he asked.

Zonen said the defence argument that the accuser and his family fabricated the molestation charges to shake down Jackson was "nonsense. It is unmitigated rubbish."

He asked the jury to imagine how difficult it must have been for the boy, now 15, to testify in court against Jackson -- a man he had once admired.

"That has got to be a difficult moment and yet we are supposed to believe that what he said was all made up because there is some expectation that in the future he will become a wealthy person," the prosecutor said.

He said Jackson, who is also accused of plying his accuser with alcohol, "has a drinking problem. There is no other explanation for it."

Jackson sat unmoved during Zonen's closing arguments. When he arrived at the courthouse with his parents and three brothers, a throng of about 100 supporters shouted "Fight Michael, Fight."

Some fans who were unable to get seats in the packed courtroom wore white to show their belief in Jackson's innocence. Others held placards with slogans such as "Poland loves you, Michael," and "Japan loves you, Michael."

The man who once crowned himself King of Pop faces more than two decades in prison if convicted on all charges.

Zonen said that after Jackson abused the 13-year-old boy, he defended himself by attacking the credibility of his accuser and the boy's mother.

Zonen conceded that the mother of Jackson's accuser had lied on a welfare application, but said the defence had failed to prove its contention that she preyed on other celebrities for money, including comedians Jay Leno and George Lopez.

The superstar did not take the witness stand, where he would have faced cross-examination about accusations of inappropriate behaviour with young boys dating back more than a decade.

Jackson is charged with four counts of molesting the boy, then 13, at Neverland in early 2003, plying the young cancer patient with alcohol in order to abuse him and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

Both sides were expected to conclude their arguments by Friday. The case will then go to the jury.

- REUTERS