LOS ANGELES (AP) — Santa Barbara County prosecutors said they will file charges in the molestation case against Michael Jackson on Thursday or Friday, and they have hired a public relations firm to handle the expected crush of news media inquiries.
The charges will be filed at the courthouse in Santa Maria, near the singer's Neverland Ranch, District Attorney Thomas Sneddon said in a statement.
Sneddon's hiring of a firm to deal with the media drew immediate criticism from Jackson family spokesman Brian Oxman. He said it was improper because "a district attorney is supposed to try the case in court, not in the press."