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Attorneys offer closing arguments
Prosecution paints Jackson as predator as defense counters singer is real victim
By DAWN HOBBS
NEWS-PRESS STAFF WRITER
With passionate closing arguments on Thursday, the prosecution tried to convince jurors that Michael Jackson is a dangerous child molester, while the defense insisted he is the victim of a conniving family out for his money.
Each side called the other desperate in their final efforts in the Santa Maria courtroom to map out their widely divergent stories to the North County jurors.
Prosecutor Ron Zonen said Mr. Jackson lured a vulnerable 13-year-old to the fairy-tale-like Neverland Valley Ranch where "things turned horribly illegal" as he enticed the boy into a "forbidden world" of alcohol, pornography and masturbation.
"(The mother) never asked for one penny from Michael Jackson -- she never desired anything from him and she doesn't today," Mr. Zonen's voice boomed in the packed courtroom.
Lead defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau lambasted the prosecution for being "mean-spirited, nasty and barbaric" in its attempt to humiliate his client. Mr. Mesereau called prosecution witnesses "disasters" and painted the accuser and his family as "con artists, actors and liars."
"(The prosecution) would like you to think it was Michael Jackson taking these innocent little lambs and corrupting them -- and it's all baloney," Mr. Mesereau said, demanding that jurors acquit his client on all charges.
The jurors appeared riveted, taking few notes as they listened carefully to the dueling attorneys. After closing arguments end today, the jury of eight women and four men will retire behind closed doors to begin deliberating the fate of the world-famous entertainer.
Mr. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to child molestation, administering alcohol to a minor to commit a felony, and conspiracy, charges that carry a potential of 18 years behind bars if convicted. He is free on $3 million bail.
"I'm OK," the frail entertainer quietly told journalists as he left the Santa Maria courthouse Thursday afternoon surrounded by family and bodyguards.
The closing arguments, covered by media from around the world, cap 13 weeks of testimony in the high-stakes trial from 90 prosecution witnesses and 50 defense witnesses.
Mr. Zonen argued that Mr. Jackson is a pedophile who has a pattern of grooming and molesting young adolescent boys that dates back more than a decade. He asked jurors if they'd feel comfortable allowing a middle-aged man, especially one who possesses pornography and regularly gets intoxicated, to sleep with children. He insisted they should not allow him to get away with this behavior any longer.
"At Neverland, (children) are separated from their parents, separated from authorities, separated from discipline," Mr. Zonen said. "They ran free. They did whatever they wanted to do. . . . At night they entered into the world of the forbidden . . . and learned about sexuality from someone who was too willing to be their teacher."
Mr. Zonen said that in this case, Mr. Jackson "began with discussions of masturbation and nudity," and then escalated to plying the boy, then 13, with alcohol to lower his inhibitions and make molesting him easier.
The prosecution alleges Mr. Jackson and his associates conspired to abduct, falsely imprison and extort the boy and his family in the spring of 2003 in an effort to force them to participate in a video designed to combat a controversial British documentary compiled by Martin Bashir. They say the documentary, "Living with Michael Jackson," shown here Feb. 6, 2003, threatened the entertainer's wealth and career because the boy who would become Mr. Jackson's accuser is shown holding hands with the pop star as he states he innocently shares his bed with children.
It was after the family helped make a rebuttal video lavishing praise on the entertainer that the boy, now 15, alleges Mr. Jackson molested him in his king-sized bed at Neverland Valley Ranch in March 2003.
Mr. Zonen accused the entertainer of selecting the young cancer patient as his victim because "the lion on the Serengeti doesn't go after the strongest antelope -- the predator goes after the weakest."
The prosecutor insisted the boy's testimony was "entirely credible, entirely accurate and entirely truthful," imploring jurors to hold Mr. Jackson "responsible for what he did."
Mr. Mesereau, the defense lawyer, told jurors that none of the adult material seized from Mr. Jackson's ranch is illegal, nor is there anything nefarious about the entertainer sharing his bed with children.
He lashed out at the prosecution's conspiracy theory in a thunderous voice: "The idea that the Bashir documentary was such a public relations problem that he would commit a felony is ridiculous."
Mr. Mesereau reminded jurors of the documentary outtakes he showed in which Mr. Jackson describes being inspired by the innocence of children and talks about wanting to host celebrity animal parties.
"Does he look like a person even capable of masterminding a conspiracy of this magnitude?" Mr. Mesereau asked.
The prosecution's case is based on the family's lies, Mr. Mesereau insisted, pointing out that when the alleged crimes occurred Mr. Jackson was under a microscope of worldwide scrutiny because of the fallout from the documentary: "It's absurd. It's unrealistic. It makes no sense -- because this case makes no sense."
Mr. Mesereau pointed out that the family went to lawyers before reporting the allegations to authorities because they're after his client's money. He accused the boy's mother of concocting similar allegations in the past: "Perjury is meaningless to her -- perjury is a habit and she committed perjury right here in this courtroom."
Mr. Mesereau insisted the boy's mother exploited her son's illness for financial gain in what he described as "a compulsive addiction to celebrities."
"It's a pattern, it does not stop and it's going on in this courtroom today," the defense lawyer asserted.
In contrast, he described his client as "a childlike person, very naive . . . a person who likes to sit in trees and compose . . . a person who has trusted all of the wrong people . . . and he has been a target for years."
He proclaimed, "There is no evidence he did anything whatsoever."
Mr. Mesereau passionately urged jurors: "You cannot let injustice happen in this courtroom. . . . Mr. Jackson must go home and he must be free."
Dawn Hobbs is also an analyst from NBC News. You may e-mail her at dhobbs@newspress.com.
CASE FILE
IN COURT: Prosecutor Ron Zonen and defense lawyer Tom Mesereau battle to convince a Santa Maria jury.
WHAT'S NEXT: After the defense concludes its closing argument and the prosecution offers a final argument, the case is expected to go to the jury.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: "I'm OK."
-- Mr. Jackson, after sitting in the courtroom during closing arguments at his child-molestation trial.
--STAFF REPORT
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