DA: Jackson to be charged Thursday
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Michael Jackson
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The Santa Barbara, California, district attorney is expected to formally charge pop star Michael Jackson with molesting a young boy. CNN's Frank Buckley reports (December 18)
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (CNN) -- Pop star Michael Jackson will be formally charged Thursday afternoon with molesting a young boy, the Santa Barbara district attorney's office confirmed Wednesday.
Court documents filed on Wednesday outline an agreement between Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon, Jackson and his attorney Mark Geragos that allows Jackson's passport to be returned to him, so that he may travel to Great Britain from December 20 to January 6.
The agreement does not specify why Jackson is traveling out of the United States. It was also signed by a bail agent.
Sneddon said the formal charges will be filed Thursday around 1 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) in the Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, a working-class town close to Jackson's Neverland ranch.
"I will conduct a short press briefing at the location immediately following the briefing," he said in a written statement.
Sneddon has previously scoffed at suggestions his case was falling apart. "Everything will become clear when the charges are filed," Sneddon said earlier.
Jackson, 45, was booked November 20 on suspicion of multiple counts of child molestation in Santa Barbara and is free on $3 million bond.
The singer and his attorneys have said he is innocent and contend that the boy in the case and his family have brought the allegations for financial gain. The boy was 12 at the time of the alleged offense and is 14 now.
Similar allegations were made in 1993, but charges were never filed after the alleged victim dropped out of any criminal proceedings when his family reportedly agreed to a multimillion dollar settlement with Jackson.
If the formal charges are filed as promised, Jackson will face arraignment January 16, a week later than the original date.
In recent weeks, the Jackson family has defended him. Jermaine Jackson accused sheriff's deputies of mistreating his brother during his arrest -- allegations the sheriff's department has denied. And the singer's parents have said they will try to adopt their son's children if his legal problems put him in danger of losing them.
"I hope they don't try to take his children. That would be devastating to him, but if they do, I'd be right there," Katherine Jackson told a British journalist.
"Some people are trying to accuse him of being a pedophile, and that is not true. And they need to stop," she said.
Last week, a memo from a Los Angeles child welfare agency was leaked to the news media in which the agency said the latest allegations of sexual abuse against Jackson are "unfounded."
Sneddon said last week he discounted the memo because his office has more information.
"Our investigators were aware of the contents of the memo prior to seeking the search warrants and arrest warrant for Mr. Jackson," Sneddon said.
Asked if thought the leaked memo hurt his case, Sneddon replied, "No, we are not worried."
