Be aware: This text accommodates descriptions of alleged sexual assault.
Jermaine Jackson, a Jackson 5 co-founder and older brother of Michael Jackson, has been ordered to pay Rita Barrett $6.5 million in damages after failing to reply to a rape lawsuit she filed in 2023, TMZ reviews and court docket information affirm. Barrett alleged within the lawsuit that Jackson broke into her residence and raped her in 1988. Her attorneys failed to trace Jackson down, however ultimately obtained court docket approval to serve him authorized discover in The Los Angeles Instances. Final month, having obtained no response from Jackson, Barrett’s attorneys filed a 95-page doc arguing for a default judgment within the case, which was granted on Could 14. The choose additionally ordered Jackson to pay Barrett authorized prices of $7,131.84.
Barrett mentioned within the submitting that she had identified Jackson for a number of years earlier than the alleged assault, by way of her work as a musician’s contractor. The go well with additionally alleged that Motown founder Berry Gordy—who was not named as a defendant—helped cowl up the rape after Barrett informed him what had occurred the next day.
Barrett was in a position to pursue the civil lawsuit, filed within the Los Angeles Superior Court docket, below California’s Sexual Abuse and Cowl Up Accountability Act, which briefly waives the statute of limitations on sure sexual misconduct claims. Regardless of failing to reply to Barrett’s lawsuit, Jackson attended the Michael biopic premiere in Hollywood final month. Pitchfork has emailed representatives for Barrett and Jackson for remark.
In case you or somebody you already know has been affected by sexual assault, we encourage you to achieve out for help:
RAINN Nationwide Sexual Assault Hotline
https://www.rainn.org
1 800 656 HOPE (4673)
Disaster Textual content Line
SMS: Textual content “HELLO” or “HOLA” to 741-741
