California grand jury indicts singer Jackson

Michael Jackson has been indicted by a California grand jury investigating child molestation accusations against the pop star…

Michael Jackson has been indicted by a California grand jury investigating child molestation accusations against the pop star, US television networks have reported.

Santa Barbara prosecutors presented evidence to the grand jury in connection with accusations that Jackson sexually molested a young boy, who was seen in an ITV documentary filmed partly at his Neverland Valley Ranch in the hills above Santa Barbara.

Due to the secrecy surrounding the grand jury, few details of the testimony have been made public.

Jackson was charged in December with seven counts of lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and two counts of plying the boy with alcohol in order to seduce him. He has pleaded innocent and called the charges a "big lie".

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Santa Barbara Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville, who is presiding over the case, has said he would like to have a trial in the matter begin by December.

Los Angeles police have said that they are investigating claims by a man that Jackson molested him in the 1980s.

In the 1990s, Jackson paid an undisclosed amount to the family of a young boy to settle a molestation case out of court.