Re: [Discussion] Wade Robson files claim of sexual abuse against MJ-Estate
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Jackson's Aussie accuser gets trial date
11:13am September 28, 2013
May 08, 2013: Wade Robson and his mother support Michael Jackson against child abuse allegations during a 1993 interview.
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Australian choreographer Wade Robson's pursuit of a slice of late pop star Michael Jackson's estate will go to trial in Los Angeles next year.
Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff, at a hearing in downtown LA on Friday, set a June 2 trial.
Brisbane-born Robson, 31, who as a five-year-old dance prodigy was befriended by Jackson, was a star witness at the King of Pop's 2005 molestation trial in California.
Robson vehemently denied under oath Jackson had sexually abused him and was a key reason for Jackson's acquittal, but earlier this year Robson did an about-face and claimed the pop star was a sexual predator who brainwashed him.
Robson said it wasn't until after Jackson's 2009 death and the birth of his own son that he was psychologically and emotionally able to understand that Jackson had sexually abused him.
Robson filed a late claim in a Los Angeles court against the dead singer's estate, which is reportedly worth as much as $US1.5 billion ($A1.61 billion).
May 08, 2013: Young Michael Jackson impersonator Wade Robson performs on Australian talent program 'Star Search' in 1990.
A lawyer for Jackson's estate, Howard Weitzman, has labelled Robson's delayed allegations as "outrageous and pathetic".
However, Robson's lawyer, Henry Gradstein, said his client was so traumatised he could no longer dance, sing or write songs.
Robson had built a career as one of the world's top choreographers, partnering with Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears and winning an Emmy Award for his work on the US version of TV competition So You Think You Can Dance.
He also co-wrote hit songs for 'NSync and Backstreet Boys.