Jermaine Jackson has been ordered by the court to pay more than $6.5 million in damages to a woman who accused him of rape and sexual assault in 1988.
According to court documents obtained by Us Weekly on Friday, May 15, Rita Butler Barrett obtained a default judgment against Jackson, 71, more than 25 years after the alleged incident took place.
Barrett’s lawyers claim they were unable to track Jackson down to serve the suit, TMZ reported. Instead, they received court approval to execute service via legal notice in the Los Angeles Times.
TMZ also claimed that Jackson never responded to the lawsuit, which led to the entry of the default judgment. (Us has reached out to Jackson’s team and Barrett’s attorney for comment.)
Barrett first filed her lawsuit in December 2023 and claimed in court documents via the Los Angeles Times that she knew the former Jackson 5 member through her husband’s friendship with Motown Records founder Berry Gordy.
She alleged in the suit that in 1988, “Jackson arrived at Plaintiff’s home unannounced. Defendant Jackson forced himself into Plaintiff’s home, and with force and violence sexually assaulted Plaintiff.”
Barrett filed her suit under California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act, which was approved by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2022.
The bill allowed civil suits in cases of sexual assault beyond the statute of limitations, when “one or more entities are legally responsible for damages and the entity or their agents engaged in a cover up.”
The complaint also claimed that Barrett “suffered severe emotional, physical, and psychological injury, including humiliation, shame, guilt, economic loss, economic capacity and permanent emotional distress” following the assault allegedly involving Jackson,” People reported via court documents.
“During the assault, Plaintiff, a woman of faith, prayed to God for help,” the complaint stated. “During the assault, Plaintiff feared for her life.”
The default judgment comes weeks after Jermaine appeared alongside his son, Jaafar Jackson, at the Los Angeles premiere of Michael on April 20.
The biopic, which has earned $577 million worldwide in three weeks, tells the story of the early life of musician Michael Jackson (played by Jaafar, 29), from the discovery of his talent as the lead of the Jackson Five to the artist who became one of the biggest entertainers in the world.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
