Mothers of two boys testify to deep trust in Michael Jackson
One of the witnesses also bitterly accused the mother of a boy who made allegations against Jackson in 1993 of being "a gold-digger."
By The Associated Press
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/regstate/a...es/1551742.html
Mothers of two boys testify to deep trust in Michael Jackson
Friday, May 06, 2005
Mothers of two boys testify to deep trust in Michael Jackson
One of the witnesses also bitterly accused the mother of a boy who made allegations against Jackson in 1993 of being "a gold-digger."
By The Associated Press
SANTA MARIA - Two mothers testified in Michael Jackson's trial Friday that they trusted Jackson to sleep with their sons and were convinced that no molestation ever occurred.
One of the witnesses also bitterly accused the mother of a boy who made allegations against Jackson in 1993 of being "a gold-digger."
Joy Robson, whose son, Wade, testified earlier in the pop star's molestation trial, offered a ringing endorsement of Jackson's trustworthiness.
"I've known Michael for a long time. I've spent many hours talking to him about everything. I feel like he's a member of my family. I trust him. I trust him with my children," she said under questioning by Jackson attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr.
"He's a very special person," she added. "He's not the boy next door. He's Michael Jackson. He's very unique. He has a very pure personality. To know him is to love him and to trust him."
Wade Robson testified Thursday that he was never molested by Jackson and he directly denied a prosecution witness' account that as a boy he once showered with Jackson.
Also praising Jackson was Marie Elizabeth Barnes, whose son, Brett Barnes, also testified earlier in Jackson's defense that nothing improper happened when he shared Jackson's bed.
"I trusted him implicitly," she said of Jackson. "He's a very nice person. You just know when you can trust someone."
Jackson is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 2003, giving him wine and conspiring to hold the boy and his family captive to get them to rebut a documentary in which the boy appeared with Jackson, who said he let children sleep in his bed but it was non-sexual.
Joy Robson was strongly attacked on cross-examination by District Attorney Tom Sneddon, who suggested she ingratiated herself and her son with Jackson because she thought he could help the boy get into show business.
"Did you in your mind think that by having a connection and a friendship with Mr. Jackson that that could help promote your son's career?" Sneddon asked.
"You're trying to make me say that that was the basis for our friendship and that's not true," she said.
Joy Robson was asked if she knew the boy who accused Jackson of molestation in 1993 and his mother. That boy received a multimillion-dollar settlement from Jackson and no charges were filed.
Joy Robson said she had been at Neverland with the boy and his mother but spoke to them only a few times.
On cross-examination she said, "My impression of (the mother) is she wanted to be mistress of Neverland. She would order the staff around like she owned it. My impression of (her) is she was a gold-digger."
Mesereau asked, "Did you feel she was trying to use Michael Jackson?"
"Yes," she said.
Sneddon, taking up questioning again, asked whether Robson was jealous of the woman "because she replaced you."
"Absolutely not," said the witness. "... I had no wish to be (her)."
"I asked if you were jealous of her position," Sneddon said acerbically.
"What position would that be?" asked the mother.
"Being close to Michael Jackson," said Sneddon.
"I don't know that she was close to Michael Jackson," the witness answered. "My personal knowledge of that weekend was Michael Jackson trying to elude (her) for that weekend."
Joy Robson was followed to the stand by her daughter, Chantal Robson, a 26-year-old dancer who told of sleeping in Jackson's room with her brother four times as a child.
"Did you ever see Michael Jackson molest your brother Wade?" asked Mesereau.
"No," she said with a slight laugh.
Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss asked whether she thought it appropriate for a 10-year-old girl to sleep in a bed with a man who was more than 30 years old.
"I think it's appropriate for a 10-year-old girl to sleep in a bed with a friend," she said, adding under further questioning that it would be OK if the girl "and the parents" approved.
She said, as other defense witnesses have, that she saw Jackson hug children, kiss them on the cheek but that she never saw anything of a sexual nature.
She and her mother acknowledged Jackson was helpful to the family when they came to the U.S. from Australia, paying a balance on their car and loaning them $10,000, which was never repaid.
Prosecutors claim Jackson has used gifts to gain the compliance of the mothers of some boys.
Marie Barnes, of Melbourne, Australia, said she and her family got to know Jackson after her son wrote a letter which the singer pulled out of box of fan mail and decided to make contact.
She said she allowed her son to travel around the world with Jackson on a tour because she believed it would be a learning experience.
"Did you ever suspect Mr. Jackson of inappropriately touching your son?" asked Mesereau.
"Never," she said.
She said that during visits to Neverland her son slept in Jackson's room on an off-and-on basis, sometimes when he fell asleep while playing games and watching videos.
