Michael Jackson pleads innocent to molestation

'King of Pop' Michael Jackson pleaded innocent to child molestation charges yesterday during a hearing that attracted hundreds of fans who sang and chanted their support outside the courthouse.

Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville scolded Mr Jackson for arriving 20 minutes late for the five-minute hearing and warned him not to be tardy again. He set a pretrial hearing for February 13.

Judge Melville read the nine child molestation charges against the 45-year-old star, who quietly answered with his not guilty plea.

Hundreds of fans from around the world sang songs and chanted support as Mr Jackson and his family members and friends arrived yesterday for the court appearance, his first since being arrested on the charges late last year.

The arraignment was the first step in a case that could see Jackson's remarkable career in ruins and send him to prison for years if convicted.

Jackson, wearing sunglasses and a black suit with a white armband, arrived at the court shortly after 8:40 a.m. PST (11:40 a.m. EST). He left a black sport utility vehicle and was escorted under a black umbrella to the courthouse. En route he shook hands with fans and flashed the peace sign.

Buses dubbed 'Caravans of Love' brought hundreds of fans to the Santa Barbara County Courthouse in the central California town of Santa Maria to show support during the brief court session that had taken on a circus-like atmosphere.

Fans sported banners and sang gospel songs and Jackson hits. Some sold T-shirts reading "Michael is 1000 per cent innocent," quoting Jackson's brother Jermaine, who spoke out for him this week.

On Thursday, his lawyer Mark Geragos said Mr Jackson had asked New York-based criminal lawyer Ben Mr Brafman to join his legal team at the arraignment. Brafman is best-known for having won an acquittal on weapons and bribery charges for rap mogul Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.

The reclusive pop star is charged with seven counts of committing lewd acts on a boy under the age of 14 and two counts of plying him with alcohol in order to molest him.

He is expected to face a preliminary hearing on the charges later this year that could lead to a trial.

Mr Jackson, who could face nearly two decades in prison if he is convicted at a trial, survived a similar brush with the law 10 years ago after making a multimillion-dollar out-of-court settlement with the family of a teenage boy.

Though the arraignment is largely a formality and only the first step in a long legal process, hundreds of reporters from news organisations around the world descended on Santa Maria for the proceedings.

Santa Maria officials spent more than a week trying to decide which reporters would get a coveted seat in the relatively small courtroom and in an overflow room nearby, then handed out special access badges to those chosen.