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Lawyer for Jackson accuser denies money the motive
Mon Dec 29, 1:52 PM ET
NEW YORK (AFP) - The family of the boy that has accused Michael Jackson (news) of child molestation is not motivated by money, their lawyer said in response to charges by the pop star that the parents are manipulating the boy.
The lawyer, Bill Dickerman, told ABC television that the family are "credible people", "religious people," and "unsophisticated people."
He went on "I can tell you that on many occasions they indicated, especially the mother, that they were not interested in money. Money is not what is motivating them."
Jackson, 45, is charged with seven counts of molesting a boy under the age of 14 and two counts of plying him with alcohol.
Each child sex charge carries a jail sentence of between three and eight years on conviction, while those of administering an intoxicating agent to a minor carry a maximum sentence of three years each.
The boy, who is now 14, is said to be a cancer sufferer who first met Jackson in hospital.
In an interview with CBS television broadcast on Sunday night, Jackson said the case was about "money".
"It's Michael Jackson. Look what we have here. We can get money out of this. That's exactly what happened," he said, again declaring his innocence.
But Dickerman said that Jackson had appeared to "reindict" himself in his latest comments, particularly that he saw nothing wrong with sleeping with a child.
"Like it's okay to be a grown man, sleeping, sharing your bed with boys," said the lawyer. "He reiterated that again when asked."
A friend of the family, who was not named, told ABC that the boy desperately needs a kidney transplant but that his general condition has improved.
"Improved but still very down," said Jamie Masada, who has known the family since 1999 and introduced them to Dickerman, a top US lawyer.
Masada said that half of the boy's face was covered in blisters. "And his kidney is failing, he needs a new kidney. And having 'O' negative blood it is hard to find a kidney for him."
