SANTA MARIA, California - Michael Jackson`s child-molestation trial resumes Monday after an opening week of testimony that was packed with lurid details and mutual accusations of conspiracy and deceit.
Currently on the witness stand is the elder sister of the then 13-year-old cancer victim Jackson stands accused of molesting at his fantasy-style Neverland Ranch two years ago.
The first member of the accuser`s family to testify, the young woman, now 18, faces further cross-examination from Jackson`s imposing lead lawyer, Thomas Mesereau.
In a trial in which so much hangs on witness credibility, Mesereau scored key points on Friday as he got the sister to concede that she and her mother had lied about key details of the case in an interview with social workers.
Heaping scorn on the prosecution claim that the family was held captive at Neverland, Mesereau also made her acknowledge that they never tried to alert anyone to their alleged plight during visits to a passport office and a crowded shopping mall.
Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting the boy, now 15, plying him with alcohol and conspiring to abduct him, his younger brother, sister and mother. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
The battle lines in the trial, which is expected to last several months, were drawn on the very first day, in opening arguments that painted starkly contrasting portraits of a defendant who, even before his arrest, polarised public opinion.
While prosecutors portrayed Jackson as a scheming sexual predator, his defence countered with the image of misunderstood man-child, whose naive good intentions were exploited by his accuser`s family and his own aides.
According to District Attorney Tom Sneddon, Jackson showed the alleged victim and his brother pornographic magazines and websites, once walked in on them "stark naked with an erection," and simulated sex with a mannequin as they watched.
Mesereau, meanwhile, claimed the accuser`s mother was a rapacious financial predator with a history of trying to con celebrities.
The kidnap conspiracy charge took a hit on Friday when jurors watched a video -- made during the period of the alleged abduction -- of the accuser`s family praising Jackson as a loving, compassionate, humble father figure who they called "daddy Michael."
The prosecution claims the family was held captive and intimidated into making the video as a rebuttal to a damaging documentary, by British journalist Martin Bashir, that showed Jackson holding hands with his alleged victim and admitting to sharing his bed with children.
However, the unedited version presented to the jury showed the family members looking relaxed and joking between takes.
"God elected to work through Michael at a very traumatic time in our life," the boy`s mother said in the video, recorded three months before the family made their molestation allegations.
"The video was a disaster for the prosecution," said Anne Bremner, a legal analyst and criminal defence attorney.
"There was no sign of coercion or that they were being held against their will and that casts doubt on the whole conspiracy charge," Bremner said. "In this kind of case, you want to start and end with a bang. So far, for the prosecution, it`s been more of a whimper."
Asked for his opinion on the week`s proceedings as he left court on Friday, Jackson replied: "It went very good, very good."
Earlier in the week, however, Jackson had spoken of feeling "angry" as jurors were shown the explosive Bashir documentary that triggered the police investigation into his relationship with his young accuser.
He also showed discomfort at the playing of a police video shot during a raid of Neverland, that took the jury on a visual tour through the inner sanctums of the obsessively private pop star`s home, including the master bedroom where the alleged molestation took place.
On Thursday, the accuser`s sister testified to Jackson serving her and her two brothers wine at the ranch.
While not a witness to any molestation, she also recalled seeing the pop star and her brothers lying together on his bed with empty and half-full bottles of alcohol ranged around the room.
The key prosecution witness in the case remains the alleged victim himself, with Jackson`s fate resting in large part on how credible the boy comes across in the witness box.
"Sex abuse cases nearly always come down to the claimant," said Bremner. "Corroboration is important, but his performance is crucial."

03/06/2005 08:05 GMT