U.S.

Teen Injured At Jackson Ranch

August 15, 2004 / 6:02 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A 15-year-old boy riding an all-terrain vehicle at Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch was injured when the vehicle flipped, a Jackson attorney said Friday.

The boy, a guest at the ranch, was injured Thursday and flown by helicopter to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, said the attorney, Brian Oxman.

The boy "is just fine, no broken bones, no internal injuries, he's doing just fine," Oxman said.

Jackson was not at the ranch at the time, the attorney said. He did not identify the boy.

A nursing supervisor confirmed the boy was in good condition.

A security guard at the ranch directed paramedics to the boy, who was at or near the main house, county officials told the Santa Barbara News-Press. Oxman said he did not know where the accident took place or whether paramedics were called.

The ranch is about 35 miles northwest of Santa Barbara.

Earlier this week, Jackson's child molestation trial was pushed back to early next year, and set to begin Jan. 31.

At a hearing Tuesday, the state alleged Jackson imprisoned a child and the child's family at his ranch and forced them to make a videotape absolving him of molestation claims after a television documentary linked the pop star to an obsession with young boys.

In a documentary broadcast in February 2003, Jackson defended his habit of letting children sleep in his bed as "sweet" and non-sexual. Jackson was shown holding hands with the boy who is now his accuser.

Later in February, his lawyers made their own videotape of the boy and his mother. The tape has not been shown publicly, but sources who spoke on condition of anonymity have said the mother and child praised Jackson's generosity toward them and described him as a father figure to the boy, a cancer patient.

"The person Jackson perceived could put out this (public relations) fire was John Doe and his family," Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss said, referring to the alleged victim. "If he could get them on tape describing Mr. Jackson as a wonderful person, it would quell this fire."

Auchincloss said Tuesday the family had become virtual prisoners, forbidden to leave Neverland Ranch, and were forced by Jackson to make the tape. He said the family escaped once but was "cajoled back." He did not elaborate.

Jackson's attorney Thomas Mesereau objected and called the case "absurd on its face" and demanded dismissal of all charges, reports CBS News Correspondent Drew Levinson.

The allegations came at a hearing in which Judge Rodney Melville granted a defense request to postpone the scheduled Sept. 13 trial. He set a new date of Jan. 31, 2005.

The fiery court presentation was the first time the prosecution disclosed the theory of its conspiracy case against Jackson. Auchincloss detailed a number of the overt acts in the indictment, which have been kept secret until now.

Auchincloss suggested Jackson lured the alleged victim to his bed after the documentary aired. He also said that Jackson began to entice the boy with alcohol and flew the family to vacations in luxury resorts.

"He had his private plane land in the middle of the night in Santa Barbara, and take John Doe and his family to Neverland," the prosecutor said. "At Neverland, there are late nights, no homework. Do what you want, eat what you want, stay out late — no rules. It's a world of self-indulgence. Ultimately, it gets John Doe to sleep in the bed of Michael Jackson."

Mesereau ridiculed the assumption that the trips constituted false imprisonment, saying, "The idea that they were imprisoned and forced to fly on private jets to Florida, to socialize with celebrities such as Chris Tucker, is absurd on its face. It would be laughed out of court by a jury."

Jackson, 45, is charged with committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He is free on $3 million bail.

More from CBS News