People News

Jackson Jurors Accused Of Mocking Witness

Apr 9, 2005, 1:56 GMT

A journalist covering Michael Jackson's child molestation trial has accused several jurors of laughing about a witness's tearful testimony.

A 24-year-old man sobbed on Monday (04APR05) as he told jurors that Jackson groped his crotch over his clothes twice in the 1980s and touched his groin under his clothes in 1990, while ticking him.

And Robert Cole, a foreign editor for British news station Sky News, claims he overheard jurors mimicking the man's emotional testimony, during the trial's recess.

Cole says, "All I heard was, 'He was like uh-huh-huh (imitating a crying sound)' and then I heard laughter.

"It sounded like they had just heard this kid crying and they were kind of laughing at what had happened, mimicking him. I didn't hear any names or anything... I don't know if they were talking about him or not."

But court administrator Darrel Parker insists, "It is an unsubstantiated rumour and there is no investigation."