Santa Maria, Calif. — The mother of Michael Jackson's young accuser acknowledged lying under oath twice in an unrelated case during a furious exchange Friday with the pop star's lawyer, who tried to portray the woman as a con artist.
Attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. barraged the woman with rapid-fire questions and insinuations during an intense day of cross-examination, and she responded with long-winded answers that often strayed from the subject, prompting Judge Rodney Melville to admonish both sides.
Mesereau, attempting to shatter the mother's credibility, focused many of his questions on the woman's lawsuit against a department store. The family members received more than $150,000 in 2001 after alleging they were roughed up by J.C. Penney Co. Inc. security guards.
Mesereau noted that in a sworn statement, the woman said she had never been abused by her husband at the time -- an important issue, because her alleged injuries may have been caused by such violence.
"You were not telling the truth under oath when you made those statements," Mesereau said.
The woman eventually responded, "This is correct," but explained that she lied because she was embarrassed about the abuse.
She also acknowledged being untruthful when she said in the lawsuit that her husband was honest.
Earlier, the witness testified that she gave a poor performance on a videotaped interview in which she praised Jackson, saying she is a "bad actress." Mesereau fired back: "I think you're a good one."
The judge chastised Mesereau for the remark and told the woman to refrain from delivering long answers unrelated to attorneys' questions, telling her, "It's as much your fault."
Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old former cancer patient, plying the boy with alcohol, and holding his family members captive at his Neverland ranch and elsewhere in 2003 to get them to help rebut a damaging documentary.
Jackson's lawyers have suggested the child-molestation charges were concocted by the boy's mother in an attempt to get money from Jackson.
The mother said Jackson associates gave her a precise script to follow in the rebuttal video but later told her she had strayed too far from it, leading to the comments on her acting skills.
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