Jackson denounces leak of 1993 confidentiality agreement with boy
(CNN) -- Pop superstar Michael Jackson on Thursday denounced leaks of a 1993 confidentiality agreement between him and a boy who had accused the musician of molesting him.
Court TV earlier this week said Jackson paid more than $20 million to settle the case. (Full story)
Jackson did not deny the amount that he reportedly paid, and said he settled the case only so he could move on with his life.
"I have always maintained my innocence, and vehemently denied that these events ever took place. I reluctantly chose to settle the false claims only to end the terrible publicity and to continue with my life and career," Jackson said in a written statement.
Jackson, 45, currently faces multiple child molestation charges with another boy that stem from alleged incidents that the Santa Barbara County district attorney's office says took place in 2002 when the boy was 12. Jackson is accused of multiple charges of engaging in lewd and lascivious acts and giving an intoxicating agent to a minor.
Jackson has pleaded not guilty to those charges.
In the 1993 case, Jackson was investigated after allegations of sexual misconduct involving a then-13-year-old boy, but no charges were ever filed.
According to the confidentiality agreement obtained by Court TV, Jackson agreed to pay $15.3 million to be held in a trust fund for the accuser, now 24, as well as $1.5 million to each of his parents. Additionally, the plaintiff's lawyer was slated to receive $5 million, Court TV reported.
The alleged victim may have also received another payment of up to $7 million not specified in the agreement, Court TV said.
The Court TV report was the first time the agreement has been reported in substantial detail.
"I respect the obligation of confidentiality imposed on all of the parties to the 1993 proceedings," Jackson said in his statement Thursday. "Yet, someone has chosen to violate the confidentiality of those proceedings. Whoever is now leaking this material is showing as much disrespect for the Santa Maria Court's 'gag order' as they are a determination to attack me.
"No action or investigation has been taken to determine who is leaking this information or why they are permitted to violate the law in such a manner. I respectfully request that people see these efforts for what they are."
He added: "These kinds of attacks and leaks seek to try the case in the press, rather than to a jury who will hear all of the evidence that will show that I did not, and would not, ever, harm a child."
Evidence of the 1993 accusations could be admitted as evidence of prior criminal behavior against Jackson in his current case -- but only if the now-adult accuser is willing to testify.
California state law bars prosecutors from compelling the accuser in the 1993 case to answer questions.
The Santa Barbara County district attorney's office has signaled that it may try to use evidence from the 1993 investigation to bolster the current case against the singer.
The alleged victim went silent after the entertainer paid him the civil settlement in 1994.
