2 jurors in Jackson molestation trial say they regret acquittal

LOS ANGELES -- Two of the jurors who voted to acquit singer Michael Jackson of child molestation and other charges say they regret their decisions.

Jurors Eleanor Cook and Ray Hultman, who both have pending book deals, said in a televised interview last night that they believed the singer's young accuser was sexually assaulted.

''No doubt in my mind whatsoever, that boy was molested, and I also think he enjoyed to some degree being Michael Jackson's toy," Cook said on MSNBC's ''Rita Cosby: Live and Direct."

Jackson defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau Jr. dismissed the jurors' comments as ''embarrassing and outrageous."

''These people voted not guilty," Mesereau said. ''Now almost two months after being discharged from their responsibilities as jurors, they're now changing their tune. I think it's laughable."

The jurors' comments will have no bearing on the verdict, which prosecutors cannot appeal.

Cook and Hultman said they agreed to go along with the other jurors when it became apparent that they would never convict the pop star.

The two denied they are being motivated by money, and tried to explain why they were coming forward now.

''There were a lot of people that were interested in this case from day one. People expect to know what's going on with their justice system and how things work," Hultman said.

Added Cook, ''I'm speaking out now because I believe it's never too late to tell the truth."

Cosby asked Cook whether the other jurors will be angry with her.

''They can be as angry as they want to. They ought to be ashamed. They're the ones that let a pedophile go," responded Cook, 79.

Hultman, 62, told Cosby he was upset with the way other jurors approached the case: ''People just wouldn't take those blinders off long enough to really look at all the evidence that was there."

On Aug. 4, the New York Daily News first reported that Hultman and Cook planned books and believed Jackson was guilty.

On June 13, the jurors unanimously acquitted Jackson of all charges, which alleged that he molested a 13-year-old, plied him with wine, and conspired to hold him and his family captive to make a video rebutting a damaging television documentary.