Jackson celebrates acquittal

SANTA MARIA, California - Pop superstar Michael Jackson was cleared of all charges today, including child sex abuse, ending a bitter four-month trial that could have sent him to prison for nearly 20 years.

On his website he later compared the acquittal to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the release of Nelson Mandela.

Fans outside the courtroom in central California hugged each other and set free white doves as the jury cleared the pop star on four counts of child molestation, one count of attempted molestation, four charges of giving alcohol to a minor and one charge of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.

Jackson, 46, a self-styled Peter Pan who had strenuously denied guilt on all 10 counts but did not take the stand in his own defence, dabbed at his eyes with a tissue as the verdict was read to a tense courtroom in Santa Maria, California.

Jackson hugged his lawyers after the verdicts exonerating him were read out. "Mr. Jackson, your bail is exonerated and you are released," Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville said.

The "King of Pop" looked stunned and gaunt as he left the courthouse accompanied by members of his family. He briefly held up his hand and blew a kiss at waiting fans as he made a hasty exit into his motorcade without saying a word.

The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for seven days before acquitting Jackson, a former child star who released the best selling pop album of all time in "Thriller". They had to consider testimony by 140 witnesses and some 600 items of evidence.

Jackson's defence team also left the court without speaking to the media which had gathered outside from around the world.

But Jackson celebrated wildly on his website. The multimedia website opens solemnly with the word "Innocent" displayed in black and white as triumphal orchestral music plays.

Then an image of a hand flashing the "V" for victory sign pops up, before dissolving into a montage of photos of Jackson and fans as the phrases "vindication", "victory" and "The truth runs marathons," scroll across the screen.

A pop chorus swells as the images move and the site shows a series of significant dates, including the birth of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.; the fall of the Berlin Wall, which is associated with the end of communism; and the release of South African dissident, later to become president, Nelson Mandela from his apartheid prison.

"Remember this date, for it is a part of HIStory," says the site, which the 46-year-old singer set up to provide information during his trial.

Civil rights activist the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who has advised the pop star through the case, said the trial had been "an excruciating process," adding that Jackson had been "tried and convicted in the newsroom."

But Jesse Jackson added: "Michael must assess the implications of the conduct that got him into trouble."

The verdict

Count 1: Not guilty of conspiracy, involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.
Count 2: Not guilty of a lewd act on a minor child.
Count 3: Not guilty of a lewd act on a minor child.
Count 4: Not guilty of a lewd act on a minor child.
Count 5: Not guilty of a lewd act on a minor child.
Count 6: Not guilty of attempting to commit a lewd act on a minor child.
Count 7: Not guilty of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony and not guilty of providing alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 21.
Count 8: Not guilty of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony and not guilty of providing alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 21.
Count 9: Not guilty of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony and not guilty of providing alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 21.
Count 10: Not guilty of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony and not guilty of providing alcoholic beverages to persons under the age of 21.

- REUTERS