Michael Jackson’s ‘Leaving Neverland’ Accusers Taking Their Allegations To Trial For Second Time
19.08.2023 - 20:07
/ etcanada.com
Michael Jackson’s alleged sexual assault victims, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, have gotten the green light from a California appeals court on Friday to take their accusations to trial.
The decision was made after a 3-0 ruling found Jackson’s companies potentially accountable for the late pop superstar’s alleged abuse, reversing a lower court decision, reports Variety.
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The justices stated: “Plaintiffs had every right to expect defendants to protect them from the entirely foreseeable danger of being left alone with Jackson.”
The allegations took the spotlight in the 2019 HBO docu-series “Leaving Neverland”, pointing the finger at Jackson for allegedly sexually abusing them as children.
The accusers tried to land their case in court in 2013 and 2014, but their lawsuits were dismissed due to a statute of limitations. Their second chance arrived in 2020 when California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new law that extended the statute for child sexual abuse cases.
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Their cases were met with dismissal in 2021, but they’re garnering a third chance in court now that three appellate court judges have ruled in favour of their allegations.
Robson, 46, maintains that Jackson sexually abused him when he was seven during his first visit to Neverland in 1990. Safechuck, 40, claims his abuse began when he was ten years old in Paris in 1988.
Jackson passed away in 2009 due to acute propofol intoxication at 50.