Jackson released on bail

WASHINGTON: Beleaguered `king of pop'' Michael Jackson surrendered to police at a Santa Barbara jail to face charges of child molestation, which could affect his career and send him to prison for years.
He was later released on bail after posting a three million dollar bond. A private jet carrying Jackson landed at the Santa Barbara airport shortly before noon on Thursday and the 45-year-old pop icon was immediately taken into custody by sheriffs.Jackson, his hands cuffed behind his back, entered the Santa Barbara County main jail, accompanied by defence attorney Mark Geragos, who earlier said he had arranged the surrender.
The pop star was booked under multiple counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14, an offence punishable by three to eight years in jail. Jackson''s spokesman Stuart Backerman termed the allegation the most vicious imaginable. "The big lie against Michael Jackson is anchored in the most vicious allegation imaginable, one that resonates across every culture: the spectacle of harming a child... But this spectacle is rooted in a lie." Michael said, `Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons. The truth will win this marathon in court," he said.