Michael Jackson's accusers get the go-ahead for trial in sexual abuse case

Two boys, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who have accused Michael Jackson of sexual abuse, have finally gotten the clean chit from the court to move ahead with their lawsuits for trial in the lower court.

Wade and James, who featured in the bombshell documentary Leaving Neverland, have accused the late singer of physically assaulting them when they were children. Reversing thelawsuits against Jackson, a three-judge panel from the California Court of Appeal gave its decision on Friday in favour of the boys. The 2nd District Court of Appeal reversedthe dismissedlawsuits by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge.

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"Plaintiffs had every right to expect defendants to protect them from the entirely foreseeable danger of being left alone with Jackson," the justices wrote, per Variety.

Safechuck and Robson have argued that the companies, MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures, which were solely owned by Jackson, have a legal duty to protect them.

This is the second time Wade and James have knocked on the court's doors. The pair first filed the case in 2013 and 2014, but the lawsuits were dismissed due to the statute of limitations. However, they filed a new lawsuit in 2020 under the new law, but their cases were dismissed again by the lower court judges, who agreed with Jackson’s companies, and argued that the two companies had no legal duty to protect Robson and Safechuck or anyone else from Jackson as they had no ability to control him.

Reacting to the court's decision, attorneys for the Estate of Michael Jackson, expressed their disappointment.

"We are disappointed with the Court's decision. Two distinguished trial judges repeatedly dismissed these cases on numerous occasions over the last decade because the law required it. We remain fully confident that Michael is innocent of these allegations, which are contrary to all credible evidence and independent corroboration, and which were only first made years after Michael’s death. We trust that the truth will ultimately prevail with Michael’s vindication yet again. Michael Jackson himself said, ‘lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons,'" says Jonathan.

Robson, 46, alleges that sexual abuse started when he was seven years old, and lasted for several years until he was 14. Meanwhile, Safechuck said that the sexual abuse began in Paris in 1988 when he was 10 years old.

(With inputs from the agency)

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