Wade Robson received a trial date Monday for his blockbuster claims Michael Jackson and his inner circle operated the most elaborate child sex syndicate “the world has known.” (POOL/GETTY IMAGES)
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Wade Robson received a trial date Monday for his blockbuster claims Michael Jackson and his inner circle operated the most elaborate child sex syndicate “the world has known.”
The choreographer, who says he was just 5 years old when he first met the King of Pop, is set to begin his negligence trial against the late singer’s companies MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures on March 5, 2018, a Los Angeles judge said.
A Robson lawyer said the next 12 months will be spent “gaining access to the materials needed for a much-anticipated trial.”
“We look forward to completing that discovery and disclosing to the public, through trial, the full extent of Michael Jackson’s serial sexual abuse of children, which was facilitated through his companies MJJ Productions and Ventures,” lawyer Vince Finaldi said in a statement.
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An attorney for the companies, meanwhile, said he doesn’t believe the case will make it that far.
“My opinion is that summary judgment will be granted in this case and there won’t be any trial, but the court did set a trial date for a year away just in case,” lawyer Howard Weitzman told the Daily News.
Robson, who has worked for Britney Spears and N'Sync and appeared as a judge on "So You Think You Can Dance," is one of three plaintiffs making similar claims in related lawsuits against Jackson’s companies.
The choreographer, 34, filed an amended complaint in September claiming Jackson and key staffers at MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures ran a “sophisticated child sexual abuse procurement and facilitation operation.”
Robson claims Jackson and his employees worked in concert to arrange his private meetings with underage fans, cover travel expenses and shower the youngsters with gifts.
"Make no mistake, Neverland Ranch was nothing but a well-orchestrated trap," Finaldi previously told The News. "It was custom-built to attract kids so he could groom them and decide which to sexually abuse."
The amended complaint, obtained by The News, added new negligence claims to his suit against the two companies.
Robson claims he was brought into Jackson's orbit as a small child in the late 1980s after winning a dance competition in Australia organized by MJJ Ventures.
Two years later, a Jackson assistant contacted his family about meeting with The Gloved One and staying at Neverland during a trip to Los Angeles, he says.
The assistant served as Jacko's "madam" or "procurer," his filing states.
During that visit, Jackson allegedly sexually abused Robson. The abuse continued for eight years until Robson hit puberty and Jackson lost interest, according to the complaint.
During the pop icon's 2005 molestation trial in Santa Barbara County, Robson denied he had been sexually abused. He later recanted, saying it took intensive therapy for him to come to terms with the abuse.
In 2013, Robson's initial claims against Jackson's estate were thrown out when a judge ruled he'd waited too long to sue. He is now pursuing the separate civil claims against Jackson's companies.
A source in Jackson's camp called the new complaint "too silly" to warrant a response.
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