Michael Jackson’s brother Jermaine is accused of sexual assault in lawsuit

LOS ANGELES – Mr Jermaine Jackson, one of late pop icon Michael Jackson’s older brothers and a founding member of the Jackson 5, was accused of sexual assault in a civil suit filed on Dec 27 in California.

In the suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Ms Rita Barrett accuses Jermaine Jackson, 69, of sexual abuse, sexual battery, sexual assault, harassment and rape relating to an incident that she says happened at her Los Angeles home in 1988.

In the court papers, Ms Barrett says that Jackson forcefully entered her home and assaulted her, inflicting “severe emotional, physical and psychological injury, including humiliation, shame, and guilt, economic loss, economic capacity and permanent emotional distress”.

The suit lists Jackson, Jermaine L. Jackson Music Productions and Work Records, a business Jackson founded, as defendants.

Jackson could not be reached for comment.

Ms Barrett’s court filing says she came into contact with Jackson through her role as a musician’s contractor and as a member of a union that represents musicians.

The complaint says she also knew Jackson through Mr Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, who had a personal and business relationship with Ms Barrett’s husband.

Mr Gordy could not be reached for comment.

In her suit, Ms Barrett says that she told Mr Gordy what happened the following day, but he “withheld and concealed the acts, further perpetuating the cover-up and allowing Mr Gordy, defendant Jackson and others in the business relationship to continue to reap profits derived from Mr Jackson’s work and reputation for years to come”.

Ms Barrett is requesting a jury trial.

Mr Michael Pellegrino, president of Artists Management Agency, which has represented Jackson since 2014, said the agency would be parting ways with the musician because of the suit.

“We have a zero-tolerance policy concerning these matters,” Mr Pellegrino wrote in an e-mail to The New York Times on Dec 29. “We wish him well, but we must feel comfortable about who we represent, and unfortunately at this moment, we must take in consideration our other clients who do not feel comfortable with the current allegations.”

Mr Jeff Anderson, a lawyer for Ms Barrett, said that his client decided to file the suit after learning that California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover-Up Accountability Act allows certain sexual abuse claims to be revived that would otherwise be barred by the statute of limitations.

“The first thing that she and we want by having brought this case is for it to be known that Jermaine Jackson committed a very serious crime,” Mr Anderson added. NYTIMES