Jackson Not Called to Testify As Defence Ends

The defence in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial rested its case yesterday without calling the 46-year-old singer to the stand.

Although Mr Jackson's attorney, Thomas Mesereau, had suggested in his opening statement that the jury would hear from Mr Jackson in his own words, the nearest the court in Santa Maria came to hearing the singer's version of events was in videotaped out-takes from the Martin Bashir documentary Living with Michael Jackson.

The prosecution began its rebuttal of the defence case yesterday, a process expected to take less than a day. The defence follows, and closing arguments are expected next week. The jury could begin its deliberations as early as the middle of next week.

Rather than Mr Jackson, the final witness for the defence in the trial, now in its 60th day, was the comedian and actor Chris Tucker. Mr Tucker testified that he had become friendly with the Arvizo family, the family at the centre of the allegations against Mr Jackson. He had helped them financially, he testified, at one point giving them $1,500.

But, he said he had become suspicious of the family, and at one point had warned Mr Jackson about Janet Arvizo, the accuser's mother.

"I started getting nervous," Mr Tucker told the court. She "started crying, not in the normal way. She started acting like frantically, like mentally. Something wasn't right."

Mr Tucker accompanied the family on a trip to Miami at the time the Bashir documentary was broadcast in the US. The prosecution has alleged that Mr Jackson arranged for the family to join him in Miami to take part in a press conference and to prevent them from seeing the documentary in which Mr Jackson said that he allowed children to share his bed.

But Mr Tucker testified that the family was desperate to be with Mr Jackson. Ms Arvizo "was frantically saying 'Michael is the father'. That's why I took Michael to the room and said, 'Something ain't right.'

"I hadn't even been around her that much. It was just get ting to be a little too much."

Mr Tucker also cast doubt on the integrity of Gavin Arvizo, the youth who accuses Mr Jackson of sexually molesting him in 2003, when he was 13 years old. Mr Tucker said the youth was manipulative, "smart, cunning at times, but I always overlooked it".

Under cross-examination, however, Mr Tucker became evasive. He avoided answering questions about a telephone call he made to Gavin Arvizo after criminal charges had been filed against Mr Jackson.

Mr Jackson faces up to 20 years in prison if he is found guilty on charges of child molestation and conspiracy involving kidnap, extortion and administering alcohol to a minor to enable a felony.