Waiting For Jackson's Surrender
Pop superstar Michael Jackson is expected to turn himself in to authorities Thursday in Santa Barbara, Calif., on an arrest warrant alleging multiple counts of child molestation.
Jackson family attorney Brian Oxman said Jackson has retained Michael Geragos, the attorney who is also defending Scott Peterson on charges the fertilizer salesman murdered his wife and unborn son.
"They will choose their own time and their own place" to surrender, Oxman said Thursday on CBS News' Early Show, "and it will be designed to be as quick as possible from their own perspective. Michael, I am certain, does not want to make a spectacle of this and it will be done in his own manner."
"The basis of this investigation regarding Mr. Jackson involves allegations of child molestation," Santa Barbara Sheriff's Deputy Jim Anderson announced Wednesday.
CBS News Correspondent Steve Futterman reports that although law enforcement officials are refusing to give details, there are reports saying Jackson's accuser is a 12-year-old boy who is a cancer survivor.
Jackson's spokesman on Wednesday called the allegations "scurrilous and totally unfounded."
Investigators began waiting for the singer at Santa Barbara's small airport Wednesday, along with a throng of media, but he did not appear.
"Almost every private plane that landed came under media scrutiny," said Futterman.
"Get over here and get checked in," District Attorney Thomas W. Sneddon Jr. advised the King of Pop at a news conference broadcast worldwide. Jackson was directed to give up his passport and his arrest warrant set bail at $3 million, authorities said.
The warrant for the 45-year-old Jackson's arrest comes after nearly 70 detectives combed his Neverland ranch, reports CBS News Early Show National Correspondent Hattie Kauffman.
Jackson is charged by the state with lewd or lascivious acts with a child under age 14, punishable by three to eight years in prison, law enforcement officials said.
"This is a very serious, felony charge against Jackson and it brings with it the possibility of significant prison time if he is convicted," said CBSNews.com Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen. However, "it's important to note that there is no child rape charge against Jackson. ... The sentencing range for this crime is lower than it would be for a child rape charge."
"The outrageous allegations against Michael Jackson are false. Michael would never harm a child in any way. These scurrilous and totally unfounded allegations will be proven false in a courtroom," spokesman Stuart Backerman said in a statement.
Celebrity attorney Gloria Allred told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen she was not surprised by the charges.
"I've been long concerned about Mr. Jackson," she said, and has filed complaints with authorities before about the welfare of children associated with the entertainer.
"The choice of charge suggests that prosecutors right now have no proof, and even perhaps no allegation, that Jackson engaged in any sexual intercourse with a minor, or that there was any measurable force used in the alleged incident," said Cohen. "Otherwise, we might have seen any even more serious charge."
On Wednesday, CBS pulled a Jackson music special planned for next Wednesday on his greatest hits and the impact on pop culture of the former child star who got his start with his brothers as a member of the singing-and-dancing Jackson 5.
The singer had international hits with the albums "Thriller" (1982), "Bad" (1987) and "Dangerous" (1991), but saw his career begin to collapse after the 1993 allegations.