Police: No evidence in old abuse claim against Jackson
From Dree de Clamecy
CNN
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Police said Wednesday they found no evidence to support child abuse allegations from the 1980s against singer Michael Jackson.
In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department said detectives from the Juvenile Division have concluded a two-month "extensive investigation," have determined there was "no evidence that any crime occurred" and that "no charges will be sought."
Police said the charges were debunked after hours of interviews.
Jackson's publicist in Washington released a statement thanking the LAPD for its investigation and findings.
"Michael Jackson always maintained his innocence of these false and malicious allegations from individuals seeking to capitalize on his current legal situation," the statement said.
Jackson is currently facing multiple charges of child molestation stemming from incidents the Santa Barbara County District Attorney's office says took place in 2002 with a then-12-year-old boy.
In April, the LAPD released a one-paragraph statement saying investigators were contacted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office and asked to look into different allegations of abuse against Jackson.
"The victim alleges the acts took place in the city of Los Angeles in the late 1980s," the April 13 LAPD statement said.
However, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN at that time police had doubts about the accusations, and that investigators were trying to determine if the accuser was ever with Jackson at any time.
"When police investigate something and feel that there's not even enough evidence for a prosecutor to review, that's a very strong statement," Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office, told CNN. "When we first learned of this, we asked police to investigate. They did and announced their decision. There's nothing more pending in this office."
In a court appearance April 30, Jackson pleaded not guilty to the 10 charges he currently faces -- including four counts of child molestation, four counts of administering an intoxicating agent, one count of attempted child molestation and one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.
In 1993, Jackson was also investigated following allegations of sexual misconduct involving a 13-year-old boy. The singer resolved that case in a multi-million-dollar out-of-court settlement with the boy's family. No charges were ever filed.
CNN's Miguel Marquez contributed to this report.
