Two men claiming sexual abuse by late Michael Jackson can pursue legal actions
A Court of Appeal in California in the United States has ruled that two men claiming sexual abuse by the late singer, Michael Jackson can pursue legal claims.
The two men, identified as Wade Robson and James Safechuck who featured in a documentary alleged that they were sexually abused by Michael Jackson in the late 1980s and early 90s while staying at his Neverland ranch reports the BBC.
Advertisement
Michael Jackson died in 2009 and his family has since denied the claims by the two men.
They have described the documentary Leaving Neverland as a “public lynching”.
A lower court had dismissed lawsuits brought by the two men in 2014 because California’s statute of limitations required that claims of childhood sexual abuse be filed before an accuser’s 26th birthday.
However, a new law, which came into effect on January 1, extends the timeframe up to a person’s 40th birthday and a California court has ruled that the two can pursue legal claims against two of Michael Jackson's companies as reported by the BBC.
Both Mr Robson and Mr Safechuck claim they were abused by Jackson from the ages of 7 and 10 respectively.
In a statement following the ruling, Vince Finaldi, the lawyer for the two men said in: “We are pleased that the Court has recognised the strong protections California has put into place for sexual abuse victims under the state’s new law extending the statute of limitations.”
Howard Weitzman, a lawyer for Jackson’s estate, said: “The Court of Appeal’s ruling merely revived lawsuits against Michael Jackson’s companies, which absurdly claim that Michael’s employees are somehow responsible for sexual abuse that never happened.”
