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The Michael Jackson Trial

Day one of Jackson trial focuses on accuser, his family


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Opening statements begin in the Michael Jackson case.
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SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- A district attorney described in graphic detail to a jury Monday how pop superstar Michael Jackson allegedly sought to alter a teenager's morals as part of a seduction scheme.

But the defense countered by telling jurors the teen's mother wanted to wring money from the rich and famous.

The back-and-forth came during opening statements in Jackson's child molestation trial, and laid out to jurors what will likely be the pivotal issue in the trial: The credibility of the accuser and his family.

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old former cancer patient, giving him alcohol and attempting to hold him and his family captive. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

In his opening statement, defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. said the teen's mother had approached many celebrities, including "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno and comedian Jim Carrey, for money.

The teen's mother has claimed false imprisonment twice before, and has claimed she was a victim of sexual assaults, said Mesereau, who is expected to finish his opening statement on Tuesday. (More on defense opening.)

The defense attorney's opening statement followed a nearly three-hour opening statement by Santa Barbara District Attorney Tom Sneddon, who laid out in graphic, rambling detail his case against the pop star.

Sneddon described what he called Jackson's courtship of the accuser, which began in 2000, when he was 10 years old, living with his brother, sister and mother in a studio apartment in East Los Angeles.

Sneddon recounted how Jackson and his accuser met and how Jackson invited him and his family to the singer's Neverland Ranch. The district attorney described how the pop star allegedly molested the teen through a series of events that included exposing the youth to pornography, being nude in front of him and plying him with alcohol. (More on prosecution opening)

Though the accuser is still considered a child, Sneddon, for the first time in court, identified him by name.

CNN will not identify the 15-year-old high school freshman until his family confirms that is indeed their wish.

Sneddon named a number of unindicted co-conspirators and read 28 charges of overt conspiracy, including the charge that Jackson told the mother of the accuser that her life and the lives of her family were in danger.

Sneddon described a documentary, "Living With Michael Jackson," which aired in February 2003, as an attempt by Jackson to use the boy as part of a comeback by showing how the entertainer had helped him through his bout with cancer.

But the effort backfired after Jackson was shown holding hands with his accuser and defending his practice of allowing children to sleep in his bed, Sneddon said.

"The defendant's world was rocked," the prosecutor said. "It didn't rock in a musical sense but in a real-world sense."

The man who produced the documentary -- British journalist Martin Bashir -- will be the first witness, to be followed by the public relations person hired by Jackson after the documentary was broadcast.

Later, the four men and eight women on the jury will be shown the entire original version of the documentary.

Defense attorneys indicated they would ask the judge to allow the jurors to be taken to Jackson's ranch.

Jackson has supporters, detractors

Jackson arrived at Santa Barbara County courthouse shortly after 8 a.m. Monday.

He sat in the back of a black SUV for two minutes after it drove up in front of the courthouse, enough time for all three cable news networks to cut from programming to take a live shot of his arrival.

Dressed in a black suit with a red armband, black vest, white shirt and black tie, he then emerged from the vehicle and turned to a television camera, flashing a "V" sign.

Then, escorted by a man who held an umbrella over the star's head, Jackson strode through a light drizzle into the courthouse.

A crowd of people who had assembled watched. Some people applauded; others carried signs in protest. One sign read, "No Sex with Kids."

CNN's Miguel Marquez, Dree DeClamecy and Traci Tamura contributed to this report.


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