Accuser's mother admits lying earlier

SANTA MARIA, Calif. -- The mother of Michael Jackson's young accuser acknowledged lying under oath twice in an unrelated case during a furious exchange yesterday with the pop singer's lawyer, who tried to portray the woman as a con artist.

Attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. barraged the woman with rapid-fire questions and insinuations during an intense day of cross- examination, and she responded with long-winded answers that often strayed from the subject, prompting Judge Rodney S. Melville to admonish both sides.

Mesereau focused many of his questions on the woman's lawsuit against a department store. The family received more than $150,000 in 2001 after alleging they were roughed up by JC Penney security guards.

Mesereau noted that in a sworn statement, the woman said she had never been abused by her husband at the time -- an important issue because her alleged injuries may have been caused by such violence.

''You were not telling the truth under oath when you made those statements," Mesereau said.

The woman eventually responded, ''This is correct," but explained that she lied because she was embarrassed about the abuse.

She also admitted being untruthful when she said in the lawsuit that her husband was honest.

Earlier, the witness testified that she gave a poor performance on a videotaped interview in which she praised Jackson, saying she is a ''poor actress." Mesereau fired back: ''I think you're a good one." The judge chastised Mesereau for the remark and told the woman to refrain from delivering long answers unrelated to attorneys' questions.

Jackson, 46, is accused of molesting a 13-year-old former cancer patient, plying the boy with alcohol, and holding his family captive at his Neverland Valley Ranch and elsewhere in February and March 2003 to get them to help rebut a damaging documentary.

Jackson's lawyers have suggested that the child-molestation charges were concocted by the boy's mother to try to obtain money from Jackson.

The mother said Jackson associates gave her a precise script to follow in the rebuttal video but later told her she had strayed too far from it, leading to the comments on her acting skills.