Michael Jackson Is Indicted on Child-Molesting Charges
By NICK MADIGAN
Published: April 22, 2004
LOS ANGELES, April 21 — A grand jury in Santa Barbara indicted Michael Jackson on Wednesday on charges of child molesting, making it a virtual certainty he will stand trial in a case brought by prosecutors in December, officials said.
Mr. Jackson had originally been accused of seven counts of sexually abusing a boy, now 14, and of two counts of giving him alcohol as part of the molesting. The Santa Barbara district attorney's office said the acts occurred early last year at Mr. Jackson's ranch, Neverland, about 25 miles north of Santa Barbara. A conviction could bring a 20-year prison sentence.