The late Michael Jackson has been sued on charges of child prostitution and sexual abuse.
On the 28th (local time), according to multiple U.S. media outlets including Page Six and Rolling Stone, the late Michael Jackson's former friend Dominic and his children Frank Cascio (44), Marie-Nicole Forthé (37), and Aldo Cascio (34) filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles court the previous day alleging that Michael Jackson drugged and raped them and sued his estate.
The lawsuit filed by attorney Howard King on behalf of the Cascio family included allegations of child prostitution, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, negligent hiring, and fraud. The suit seeks a trial to determine compensatory damages and punitive damages.
According to the complaint released by the media, the Cascio family alleged that Michael Jackson was a serial child sex offender who sedated the plaintiffs with drugs and raped and sexually assaulted them for more than 10 years, and that some plaintiffs began being abused when they were as young as 7 or 8. They said the abuse occurred over long periods in various places around the world, including when Jackson and his children stayed at the plaintiffs' family home.
The Cascio family wrote in the complaint that after gaining the family's trust through gifts, displays of affection and sustained attention, they isolated the children from responsible adults, provided them with drugs and alcohol, exposed them to pornography, and then abused them individually.
But Marty Singer, the legal representative for the late Michael Jackson's family, rebutted, saying the lawsuit is an attempt by Frank Cascio and his family, who are already embroiled in arbitration over alleged civil extortion, to desperately extract money. The Cascio family had previously defended Jackson during his 2005 criminal trial on child molestation charges, in which he was acquitted. Singer said Frank's 2011 book also claimed Jackson "never harmed them or anyone else" and repeatedly and consistently asserted his innocence.
Singer said the Cascio family "firmly defended Michael Jackson and maintained his innocence for more than 25 years," and added, "This lawsuit is part of their scheme to extort hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael's estate and company, a crafty attempt to exploit the jurisdiction of the courts."
Singer also claimed that the Cascio family tried to extort $213 million last summer (about 31.36 billion won). He said, "(The Cascio family) saw the growing financial success of the estate management and threatened, 'Although we previously made statements defending Michael, we will reveal horrific claims that are completely inconsistent with that unless the estate management pays a large sum.'"
Meanwhile, Howard King, the Cascio family's representative, said, "Ignoring the estate's threats of financial ruin, the foundation's false extortion and false accusations, the Cascio family has decided to no longer remain silent," and added, "They are seeking rightful compensation for more than 10 years of abuse inflicted on an entire family, and they hope this lawsuit will encourage other victims and perpetrators to break the cycle of silence, summon courage and come forward."
Dominic, the father of the Cascio family, met Jackson while working at the Helmsley Palace Hotel in New York City in the 1980s, later became one of Jackson's close associates and traveled the world with him. His son Frank also worked as his assistant and manager, but in 2019, 10 years after Jackson's death, he suddenly told Jackson's estate managers that he had been abused by Jackson.
At the time, the Cascio family had reached a settlement with Jackson's estate managers, but they argued that it was "an illegal agreement to silence victims of child sexual abuse" and sought to void the settlement. In July of last year, Jackson's estate managers filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court alleging that Frank Cascio and others were attempting a "civil extortion scheme." The estate managers asked the court to order arbitration between the parties, but the judge deferred a final ruling and postponed further proceedings until March 5.
[Photo] ©Gettyimages (unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited)
[OSEN]