This is AMAZING:
'Mr. Sneddon also warned parents against allowing their children to sleep over at Neverland, a practice that has continued despite the questions about Mr. Jackson's conduct that were first raised more than a decade ago."
November 19, 2003
California Police Issue Arrest Warrant for Michael Jackson
By MARIA NEWMAN
California authorities said today that they had issued an arrest warrant for the singer Michael Jackson on multiple counts of child molestation.
The sheriff of Santa Barbara County, Jim Anderson, said at a press conference today that he and the district attorney, Thomas W. Sneddon Jr., were working with Mr. Jackson's lawyers to arrange for his surrender, and that they would ask bail of $3 million be set for him.
Sheriff Anderson and Mr. Sneddon would not name the child involved, nor would they say when or where the activity under investigation had taken place.
"I believe he is willing to cooperate with us and turn in his passport at this time," Sheriff Anderson said of Mr. Jackson, who was last reported to be in Las Vegas, on Tuesday, making a video. The two officials would not say how much time they had given Mr. Jackson to surrender.
Lawyers for Mr. Jackson called the charges "outrageous" in a statement issued on his behalf less than two hours after news conference. The lawyers, led by Mark Geragos of Los Angeles, said Mr. Jackson would return to Santa Barbara from Las Vegas to confront the accusations.
"The outrageous allegation against Michael Jackson are false," the statement said. "Michael would never harm a child in any way. These scurrilous and totally unfounded allegations will be proven false in a courtroom."
The warrant was issued under a California law that prohibits lewd or lascivious acts with a child under age 14, and a conviction could result in up to eight years in prison, the two law enforcement officials told reporters in the televised news conference at the Earl Warren Showgrounds in Santa Barbara.
The announcement of the arrest warrant comes a day after more than than 60 law enforcement officers searched Mr. Jackson's ranch, Neverland, on the authority of a warrant issued by Superior Court in Santa Barbara for what officials then would say only was a "criminal investigation." The sheriff and the district attorney said investigators arrived at the ranch at 8:30 a.m. and did not leave until 11 p.m.
Mr. Jackson, 45, did not immediately respond to the officials' announcement of the arrest warrant. But on Tuesday, he denounced news media coverage of the search in a statement given to The Associated Press by his spokesman, Stuart Backerman.
"I've seen lawyers who don't represent me and spokespeople who do not know me speaking for me," Mr. Jackson's statement said. "These characters always seem to surface with dreadful allegations just as another project, an album, a video is being released," a reference to the release of Mr. Jackson's greatest hits album, "Number Ones," on Tuesday.
At the press conference today, Mr. Sneddon, the district attorney, said the timing of the arrest warrant had nothing to do with Mr. Jackson's musical career.
"Like the sheriff and I are into that kind of music," he said, eliciting laughter at the press conference. "It has nothing to do with anything else that goes on his in life. We don't track him."
That and other occasional laughter at the news conference came in for sharp criticism in the statement issued by Mr. Jackson's lawyers. "Naturally the implications are disturbing to everyone who hears them, which is precisely the point," the statement said. "We are disturbed by the levity of the environment surrounding the announcement of these very serious charges."
Despite â?? or perhaps because of â?? the widespread public attention prompted by the arrest warrant, the sheriff and the district attorney said that they would not grant interviews to any of the array of journalists from around the world who had either come to Santa Barbara or had contacted their offices. The officials asserted that all official information about the case would be delivered only at news conferences or through official proceedings.
Almost 10 years ago, Mr. Jackson faced another investigation of child molestation involving a 12-year-old boy. No charges were ever filed in that case, but during the investigation, the boy's family filed a civil lawsuit, and Mr. Jackson settled out of court, reportedly for several million dollars.
In December 1993, Mr. Jackson, fighting back tears, denied in a television appearance broadcast from the ranch that he had sexually abused the boy, and called the accusations "disgusting" and "totally false."
"Don't treat me like a criminal, because I am innocent," the pop star pleaded at that time.
Mr. Sneddon said that the laws in California on child molestation have changed since then. At that time, he said, they required the cooperation of the victim; now, he said, they do not.
Mr. Sneddon said that in the previous case, after the civil case was settled, the child and his parents were not interested in pursuing a criminal investigation.
"As a result of that Michael Jackson case, the Legislature changed the law," the district attorney said.
"We have a cooperative witness in this case," he added. "There is no civil case filed in this particular instance nor do we anticipate one being filed."
Mr. Jackson's ranch, in the Santa Ynez Valley, about 110 miles north of Los Angeles, has a zoo and an amusement park with a Ferris wheel, bumper cars and a merry-go-round. It is five miles north of Los Olivos, a town of about 1,000 that is surrounded by vineyards and ranches where Arabian horses and Hereford cattle are bred.
Mr. Jackson, who has three children of his own, often entertains children there and has said he sees himself as childlike. In an interview with British television broadcast earlier this year by ABC, Mr. Jackson said, "I am Peter Pan." He also said that during visits by children, he often slept in a bed with them, and that he saw nothing wrong with that.
"When you say bed, you're thinking sexual," the singer said to the interviewer. "It's not sexual, we're going to sleep. I tuck them in," adding, "It's very charming, it's very sweet."
Sheriff Anderson said said that if anyone else had information about Mr. Jackson possibly molesting other children, "We would encourage the public to come forward so that we can follow up on that information."
Mr. Sneddon also warned parents against allowing their children to sleep over at Neverland, a practice that has continued despite the questions about Mr. Jackson's conduct that were first raised more than a decade ago.
"My advice is, don't do it," he said.
