Cascio Siblings Sue Michael Jackson Estate, Allege Sexual Abuse
Among other allegations, Edward Cascio claims he was abused at Elizabeth Taylor’s home in Switzerland and at Elton John’s residence in the United Kingdom
Michael Jackson’s former family friends, the Cascios, are suing the late King of Pop’s estate for alleged sexual abuse, claiming that he sexually trafficked them.
The siblings—Edward Cascio, Dominic Cascio, Marie Porte, and Aldo Cascio—allege that over the course of a decade, Jackson “drugged, raped, and sexually assaulted each of the plaintiffs, beginning when some of them were as young as seven or eight.” They have described him in the lawsuit as a “sexual predator.”
The complaint states that Jackson entered their lives through their father, who worked at a luxury hotel frequently visited by the singer. According to the filing, Jackson allegedly gave them gifts, provided access to his celebrity lifestyle, and made declarations of love to gain their trust. The plaintiffs claim he then distanced them from responsible adults, supplied them with drugs and alcohol, exposed them to pornography, and abused them individually.
Among other allegations, Edward Cascio claims he was abused at Elizabeth Taylor’s home in Switzerland and at Elton John’s residence in the United Kingdom.
According to TMZ, the lawsuit alleges that the children were abused during “interstate and international trips” to locations including Switzerland, Florida, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. The filing also claims Jackson was frequently under the influence of prescription drugs such as Xanax and Vicodin.
Attorney Marty Singer, representing the Michael Jackson Estate, denied the allegations in a statement to TMZ, calling the lawsuit “a desperate money grab by additional members of the Cascio family who have hopped on the bandwagon with their brother Frank, who is already being sued in arbitration for civil extortion.”
Singer added that the Cascio family, who had previously referred to themselves as Jackson’s “second family,” supported the late singer for more than 25 years through past lawsuits and publicly affirmed his innocence regarding allegations 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,” Singer said. He further noted that statements made by the Cascios—including passages in Frank Cascio’s 2011 book and interviews with Oprah Winfrey—contradict the current allegations, as they had consistently maintained that Jackson never harmed them or anyone else.
The Cascio siblings also claim they were previously pressured to accept USD 690,000 per year for five years from the estate following the release of the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, in exchange for their silence. Their lawyer, Howard King, is now reportedly seeking USD 200 million in damages.
In a statement to Rolling Stone, King said, “Not only do they seek fair compensation for more than a decade of abuse of an entire family, they hope their filing will embolden other victims and enablers to come forward and shake off the shackles of their silence.”
Posthumously, Jackson was also accused by Wade Robson and James Safechuck, who alleged that he molested them during the 1980s and 1990s. Their accounts were featured in the 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland, directed by Dan Reed.
Michael Jackson, widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century, died in 2009 at the age of 50 from acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication, which led to cardiac arrest. An upcoming biopic titled Michael is scheduled for release in April.
This article is written by Yoga Adithya, a student of Loyola Academy, interning at Deccan Chronicle, Secunderabad.
