A family that was very close to the late Michael Jackson and once defended him against abuse allegations has now filed a lawsuit accusing the singer of sexually abusing four of their children.
Dominic and Connie Cascio, and their five children, say Jackson abused four of the kids at Neverland Ranch, on trips, and at tour stops. The family had long described themselves as the pop idol’s “second family.”
The Family’s History with Jackson
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Relationship | Described themselves as Jackson’s “second family” |
| Prior Defense | Defended Jackson on Oprah Winfrey’s show in 2010 and in other outlets |
| First Meeting | Dominic Cascio was a manager at a posh Manhattan hotel where Jackson frequently stayed |
The family had previously defended the singer against abuse allegations on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show in 2010 and in other outlets.
The Allegations
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Number of Alleged Victims | Four children |
| Locations | Neverland Ranch, trips, tour stops |
| Age of Victims | As young as seven or eight |
| Alleged Behavior | Drugging, rape, sexual assault, grooming, brainwashing |
The complaint accuses Jackson of being a “serial child predator” who, over the course of more than a decade, “drugged, raped and sexually assaulted each of the Plaintiffs, beginning when some of them were as young as seven or eight.”
It also claims Jackson “groomed and brainwashed” them, giving the family “obsessive attention, lavish gifts, access to his celebrity lifestyle, and declarations that he loved and needed each of them.”
The Secret Settlement
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Initial Approach | Family approached Jackson estate with allegations years ago |
| Secret Agreement | Family would be paid ~$16 million over five years |
| Payments Halted | 2025 |
| Result | Negotiations fell apart; lawsuit filed |
According to The New York Times, the Cascios previously approached the Jackson estate with the allegations years ago. The family and the estate struck a secret agreement whereby the family would be paid around $16 million over the course of five years.
When the payments halted in 2025, another round of negotiations fell apart, and now a lawsuit has been filed.
Jackson’s Alleged Behavior and Code Phrases
The suit further claims Jackson was “constantly under the influence of drugs and frequently intoxicated,” while also giving the young plaintiffs “alcohol, marijuana, illegal hard drugs, and prescription drugs, including Xanax, Vicodin and Viagra.”
He allegedly called wine “Jesus Juice” and hard liquor “Disney Juice.”
| Code Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “Can I have a meeting” | Request for abuse session |
| “Go to Disneyland” | Request for abuse session |
The family also claims Jackson drilled them on “what to say if a police officer or other adult asked whether he was molesting them,” and stressed that “all of their lives, and Plaintiffs’ family members’ lives, would be destroyed if his sexual activity with them were discovered.”
Estate’s Response
Marty Singer, a lawyer for the Michael Jackson estate, released a statement calling the family’s efforts a “desperate money grab.”
“The family staunchly defended Michael Jackson for more than 25 years, attesting to his innocence of inappropriate conduct. This new court filing is a transparent forum-shopping tactic in their scheme to obtain hundreds of millions of dollars from Michael’s estate and companies.”
What Motivated the Family
The family said they were partly motivated by watching HBO’s now-shelved 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, where Jackson was accused of sexual abuse, noting it helped “deprogram” them and helped them process what happened.
The ‘Michael’ Biopic
The allegations come as Michael, the new biopic about the singer, opens this weekend and is projected to set a box office record for a music biopic. Leaving Neverland director Dan Reid recently told THR that “people don’t care that he was a child molester. Literally, people just don’t care … So a lot of people, I think, will kind of swallow any misgivings they may have and just sort of say, ‘Oh well, it’s a great jukebox movie’ and just completely ignore the fact that this guy was worse than Jeffrey Epstein.”
