Siblings’ Child Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Against Michael Jackson Dismissed

Four siblings who filed a lawsuit against the Michael Jackson estate for alleged sexual assault are facing a legal setback after a Los Angeles federal judge ruled that their case must be resolved through private arbitration. Judge Hernán D. Vera stated that the 2019 settlement agreement signed by Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole, and Aldo Cascio will prohibit them from pursuing their claims in a public court.

The judge acknowledged the "horrific" nature of the allegations but emphasized that the court has no discretion but to enforce the arbitration clause. The Cascio siblings' lawyer, Howard King, expressed disappointment with the decision, stating that they had hoped for a public trial to expose the alleged abuse and cover-up by Jackson's advisors.

However, they will now seek justice in a private setting. The eldest sibling, Frank, filed his own lawsuit independently, which, like his siblings', will be arbitrated. The claims include that the siblings were sexually trafficked by Jackson from the late 1980s until his death in 2009 through alcohol, drugs, isolation, and threats of family ruin.

The siblings were reportedly influenced by the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland to seek justice against the Jackson estate. In 2020, they reached an approximately $16 million settlement, which included signing a Confidential Acquisition and Consulting Agreement with non-disparagement and arbitration clauses. A separate lawsuit by James Safechuck and Wade Robson, the subjects of Leaving Neverland, is scheduled to go to trial in November.