A group of siblings who say they were abused by Michael Jackson have brought new child sex trafficking claims against the King of Pop’s estate.
Four of the five Cascio siblings — Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo — alleged in a Friday (Feb. 27) federal lawsuit that Jackson raped and molested them as children over the course of more than a decade, including at his Neverland ranch and while on the road for the Dangerous world tour and HIStory world tour in the 1990s. The fifth sibling, Frank Cascio, has made similar sex abuse claims in a separate pending legal proceeding.
“Jackson groomed and brainwashed each plaintiff,” reads the lawsuit, filed by attorney Howard King. “After the abuse started, he isolated them emotionally, and sometimes physically, from responsible adults and from each other. He plied them with drugs and alcohol. He showed them pornography, including pictures of unclothed children, to normalize the abuse and desensitize them. He made them fear and distrust others by convincing them that not only his life, but also their lives and the lives of their family members, would be destroyed if anyone found out what he was doing to them.”
A lawyer for Jackson’s estate, Marty Singer, denied the Cascios’ allegations in a Friday statement and said the new lawsuit is a “desperate money grab” and “transparent forum-shopping tactic in their scheme to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael’s estate and companies.”
The Cascios, who grew up with Jackson and once referred to themselves as his “second family,” were previously staunch public defenders of the star against pedophilia claims. But after HBO’s explosive Leaving Neverland documentary in 2019, the five adult siblings began to claim they were all abused by the star as children.
Without admitting any wrongdoing, the Jackson estate signed a multimillion-dollar settlement with the Cascios in 2019 in exchange for a release of all claims and a promise of confidentiality. But the siblings have since sought to reopen the matter, leading the estate to bring extortion claims against Frank Cascio in arbitration in 2024.
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The arbitration spilled into California state court last year, with Frank seeking to void his family’s settlement because they were allegedly coerced into signing it without consulting independent lawyers or fully understanding its terms. The estate says this is completely false, and a California judge indicated at a January hearing that he’ll likely side with Jackson’s camp and uphold the deal.
Now, Frank’s four other siblings are trying this same argument in federal court. Their lawsuit alleges that after Leaving Neverland “deprogrammed” them from Jackson’s brainwashing, the estate took advantage of their trust to get signatures on a “deceptive and unconscionable document.”
Edward, Dominic, Marie-Nicole and Aldo are seeking a federal court order voiding the settlement, as well as unspecified financial damages for claims of child sex trafficking, negligence, infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract and fraud.
“Plaintiffs reject the Jackson estate’s morally bankrupt efforts to control and silence them,” reads the lawsuit. “Plaintiffs bring this action to hold the Michael Jackson estate, its affiliates and the persons who control or work on their behalf accountable for Jackson’s conduct and their own wrongdoing.”
In a statement, King said the Cascios are seeking “fair compensation for more than a decade of abuse of an entire family,” and that they “hope their filing will embolden other victims and enablers to come forth and shake off the shackles of their silence.”
Singer responded in his own statement that the Cascios “spent decades defending and affirming Michael’s innocence” before changing their tune. The siblings stated during a 2010 appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, for example, that Jackson was “never” inappropriate with them, and Frank wrote in a 2011 memoir, “Michael’s love for children was innocent, and it was profoundly misunderstood.”
Jackson, who died in 2009, was never convicted or held legally liable for any accusation of child sex abuse during his lifetime; he settled a civil claim in 1994 without admitting any wrongdoing, and he was acquitted at a criminal trial in 2005. But such allegations have continued to dog his legacy, most notably when Leaving Neverland amplified claims from two men, Wade Robson and James Safechuck, in disturbing detail.
The Jackson estate vehemently denies all claims of sexual misconduct and has called Leaving Neverland a “one-sided hit job,” suing HBO and getting the documentary removed from the streaming platform. Robson and Safechuck are continuing to litigate civil abuse claims against the estate.
Meanwhile, the estate has been extraordinarily successful at monetizing Jackson’s legacy. Despite the star dying with $500 million in debt, the estate has since generated more than $3 billion with catalog deals and new live shows exploiting the King of Pop’s intellectual property. The estate’s next project, the biopic Michael, is set for release next month.
The Jackson estate says it’s no coincidence that sex abuse accusers have come out of the woodwork now that it has deep pockets.
“Notably, these shakedown attempts come more than 15 years after Michael’s death, thus carrying no risk of being sued for defamation,” said Singer of the Cascio matter. “Sadly, in death just as in life, Michael’s talents and success continue to make him a target.”
Read the entire complaint here: