Grand Jury Returns Indictment Against 'King of Pop'

[Walter Cronkite]

Michael Jackson

A grand jury investigating allegations that Michael Jackson molested a boy has indicted the pop star, ABCNEWS has learned.

The panel has been meeting in Santa Barbara, Calif., for 13 days to consider whether there is enough evidence to charge Jackson, 45. The precise charges returned against the singer were not immediately known.

The indictment means the grand jury concluded there is enough evidence to believe that Jackson has committed a crime and should face trial.

Jackson, 45, was arrested on Nov. 20 and booked on child molestation charges after a 14-year-old boy alleged the singer sexually abused him during visits to his Neverland Ranch. The boy was 12 at the time of the alleged abuse.

Jackson, who has labeled the allegations "a big lie," pleaded not guilty in January to seven counts of lewd acts upon a child and two counts of administering an intoxicating agent.

The indictment expedites the case against Jackson directly to Santa Barbara Superior Court for trial. Jackson will now face a new arraignment, where he will be given the opportunity to enter a plea. After the arraignment, the judge will set a date for trial.

Jackson is already free on $3 million bail from his previous arraignment. While the district attorney could ask for a new bond hearing, the stipulations of his release will likely remain the same.

Jackson was first accused of sexually molesting a boy in 1993, but he was never charged. He reportedly paid $20 million to settle a civil suit filed by the boy's family.

Source: AP
<!-- PARAGRAPH OBJECT --><!-- Type: htmlblock --><!-- Id: 2099 --><!-- Alignment/Wrap: left/1 --><!-- PARAGRAPH OBJECT --><!-- Type: photoUpload --><!-- Id: --><!-- Alignment/Wrap: right/1 -->