EXCLUSIVE: Father of Michael Jackson Molestation Accuser Dead
Nov. 17 2009, Published 3:30 p.m. ET
UPDATE: Cops Say Chandler’s Death Was Suicide
The father of a boy who accused Michael Jackson of molestation is dead, RadarOnline.com has learned exclusively.
Beverly Hills dentist Evan Chandler died in New Jersey. Details about his death are pending.
An official, with the Regional Medical Examiner’s Office in Newark, N.J. confirmed that Evan Chandler died Monday. She would not provide any other details.
In the early 1990s, Chandler reported Jackson to authorities in both Los Angeles and Santa Barbara, charging the King of Pop with molesting his son, then 13.
The Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office launched a 13-month probe into the allegations and convened a grand jury to look into the sexual abuse charges.
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In 1994, the boy gave police audio-taped evidence alleging abuse by Jackson. The boy and his father also brought a civil lawsuit against Jackson.
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But the case never went to trial because the boy received a civil settlement for “personal injuries arising out of claims of negligence” from the superstar.
Both parties signed a confidentiality agreement, promising not tot talk about the case or the multi-million-dollar settlement.
But in 1996, Evan Chandler filed a $60 million lawsuit against Jackson and his then wife Lisa Marie Presley, claiming the two breached the terms of a confidentiality agreement by talking about the case with Diane Sawyer on ABC’s PrimeTime Live in June 1995.
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A “Final Disposition” wasn’t made in the case until June 2000 – long after Jackson and Presley’s 1996 divorce.
The boy, now 29, has never spoken publicly about the case.