No Charges for Now Against Michael Jackson

After more than a year of investigation, accompanied by lurid speculation in the press, prosecutors said today that they would not file child molestation charges against the pop superstar Michael Jackson.

At a joint news conference, the District Attorneys for Los Angeles and Santa Barbara Counties said they had decided not to proceed with allegations that Mr. Jackson had sexually molested three boys because the "primary alleged victim" had decided not to testify.

The prosecutors said that the case would remain open and that charges could be filed if the boy changed his mind at any time before the statute of limitations expired in about five years.

The boy, who is now 14, reached an out-of-court settlement with Mr. Jackson in a civil suit filed last September. Although details of the settlement were not made public, a friend of Mr. Jackson said it involved a payment by the singer of more than $10 million. The suit accused Mr. Jackson of sexual battery, seduction, willful misconduct, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and negligence. Mr. Jackson has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing since the allegations became public in August 1993.

In announcing that no charges would be filed now, Gil Garcetti, the Los Angeles District Attorney, said: "After about 13 or 14 months of investigation this is our conclusion. We have a very important witness who has told us, 'I am sorry, I do not want to and will not testify.' And I'm telling you that if he stepped forward a month from now, two months from now, and says, 'I'm willing to testify,' we would re-evaluate our case at that time."

Tom Sneddon, the District Attorney in Santa Barbara, where Mr. Jackson owns an estate, said more than 400 witnesses had been interviewed in the case and that two other possible victims had been identified. But he said one of these, who is now in therapy, had asked not to be involved in the case and the other was out of the country and had made a "general denial" of wrongdoing by Mr. Jackson.

In California, a victim of sexual abuse cannot be required to testify in court.

The two District Attorneys made it clear that they had been prepared to proceed with charges against Mr. Jackson. In a joint statement they said: "We emphasize that our decision is not based on any issue of credibility of the victims. Should circumstances change or new evidence develop within the statute of limitations, this decision will be re-evaluated in light of the evidence available at such time."

But, responding to questions, Mr. Garcetti told reporters: "Michael Jackson is presumed to be innocent as any citizen in this room is if they are not convicted of a crime. We are not charging Michael jackson with a crime."

In a statement, Mr. Jackson said: "I am thankful that the investigation has reached a conclusion. I continually maintained my innocence. I am grateful to all my family, friends and fans who have stood by me and also believed in my innocence. Lisa Marie and I look forward to getting on with our lives, raising a family, and will never forget the unending outpouring of love from all over the world. God Bless you."

Mr. Jackson recently married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley, in a secret ceremony out of the country.

Mr. Jackson's lawyer, Howard Weitzman, said of the announcement: "It is the correct decision. Michael has steadfastly maintained his innocence. We believe it is over. For Michael it is over and he can now get on with his life."

When the allegations became public, Mr. Jackson cut short an international concert tour shortly before Christmas and disappeared from public view for a time. He read a four-minute statement on television in which he proclaimed his innocence and asked for support from his fans.

Mr. Jackson's other lawyer, Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., said today at a recess at a pretrial hearing in the case of O. J. Simpson, for whom he is a lead lawyer, "Michael Jackson is still innocent and will always be innocent." In the city's small world of celebrity lawyers, his colleague on the Jackson case, Mr. Weitzman, was briefly the lawyer for Mr. Simpson.