US: appeals court revives accusation of abuse against Michael Jackson
This ruling that represents a partial victory for Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the two alleged victims
Two people who claim to have been victims of sexual abuse by Michael Jackson when they were minors will be able to resume their complaints thanks to a decision of a court of appeals in California (USA), which today revived the case citing new legislation of the state.
US media echoed this ruling, which represents a partial victory for Wade Robson and James Safechuck, the two alleged victims and who gained notoriety last year due to the premiere of the documentary "Leaving Neverland" (2018) in which they detailed their accusations against Pop's king".
The Second District of the California Court of Appeals, based in Los Angeles (USA), recalled, in the first place, that what it had to determine has nothing to do with the veracity or not of Robson's accusations and Safechuck but with their right to be able to file a lawsuit for the alleged abuses.
In 2013 and 2014, these two men presented their complaints against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, two companies that once belonged to Jackson and which they held responsible for the alleged abuses they suffered.
At that time, California law required that charges for sexual assault of minors must be filed before the plaintiff's 26th birthday.
Because Robson and Safechuck had passed that age, the state courts dismissed the complaints.
However, on January 1, 2020, a new law came into force in California that extends the limit to be able to sue for child abuse cases to age 40.
This was the news on which the appeals court gave the green light to Robson and Safechuck so that they can take up their complaints if they wish.
Vince Finaldi, attorney for the prosecution, expressed his satisfaction in a statement sent to local media.
"We look forward to continuing the litigation of these cases as we prepare to present them in a jury trial," he said.
For his part, Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for the Jackson family, stressed in a press release that this court decision does not affect the singer's heirs but only two of his companies.
"The appellate court's decision merely revives complaints against Michael Jackson companies that absurdly claim that Michael's employees were somehow responsible for sexual abuse that never happened," he said.
Jackson, who died in 2009 at age 50 from a drug overdose, was charged on different occasions for allegedly abusing minors.
