Jackson judge to weigh previous allegations
Pop star tells radio show: 'I'm a warrior,' ordeal is painful
SANTA MARIA, California (CNN) -- A judge will hear arguments Monday on whether jurors should learn about previous child molestation allegations against Michael Jackson.
As Jackson's child molestation trial enters its fifth week, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville has set aside the day's first court session for the hearing, for which the jury will not be present.
Melville has said he would wait to hear from both the prosecution and the defense before deciding if he will let either side call witnesses to bolster its position. He has not given an indication when he would rule.
Prosecutors are pushing to allow testimony about previous allegations against Jackson, contending that they will show a pattern of behavior that bolsters the current charges against him.
But the defense is fighting the move, saying the information would be prejudicial and that the prosecution has not met the evidentiary threshold required to allow admission.
Among the earlier charges the prosecution wants to introduce are allegations from a 1993 civil suit in which a 13-year-old boy accused Jackson of sexually molesting him repeatedly over a five-month period.
Jackson reached a confidential settlement with the boy and his family, forcing authorities to end a criminal probe because the boy would no longer cooperate.
Jackson did not admit guilt in the settlement, which Court TV later reported was more than $20 million. He now says he settled the case to go on with his life -- and regrets having done so because it opened him up to subsequent false charges.
Also Monday, comedian George Lopez is expected to testify, the first celebrity to take the stand in a trial with a star-studded witness list.
Lopez befriended Jackson's accuser and his family after the boy was diagnosed with cancer in 2000. He later distanced himself from the family after falling out with the boy's father, according to earlier trial testimony.
On Sunday, Jackson said his belief in God is helping him through the ordeal, but described the allegations as "very painful."
In an interview with the radio program "Keep Hope Alive with the Rev. Jesse Jackson," Michael Jackson said, "I gain strength from God. I believe in Jehovah, God, very much. And I gain strength from the fact that I know that I am innocent.
"None of these stories are true. They are totally fabricated. It's very sad, it's very, very painful. I pray a lot. That's how I deal with it, and I'm a strong person. I'm a warrior, and I know what is inside of me. I'm a fighter, but it's very painful at the end of the day. I'm still human, you know. I'm still a human being, so it does hurt very, very, very much."
Michael Jackson faces 10 felony counts surrounding allegations of molestation in February and March 2003.
Jackson is charged with four counts of committing a lewd act on a child; one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion; one count of attempting to commit a lewd act on a child; and four counts of administering an intoxicating agent to assist in the commission of a felony.
He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
