Having been given permission by one judge in June to serve the singer with a lawsuit alleging the plaintiff was sexually assaulted at her home in 1988, a new judge has put a deadline on showing proof the woman has performed the service.
Rita Butler Barrett’s Van Nuys Superior Court lawsuit alleges sexual battery and assault and negligence. On Friday, Judge Elaine W. Mandel, the new judge on the case, said she wanted proof of service by publication within 10 days.
In June, the former judge, Huey P. Cotton, granted a motion by Barrett’s attorney, Michael Reck, to perform service by publication rather than present the summons and complaint to Jackson in person.
In his court papers, Reck stated that the 70-year-old sibling of the late Michael Jackson could not be found at the Jackson family compound in Encino or at a Westlake Village home that was considered his possible residence. Reck further said his office also hired private investigator Maureen O’Connell and her company to help with the search.
O’Connell said in a sworn statement that messages were left with an ex-wife and a daughter of Jackson.
“Despite these good-faith efforts, we have not received any responses or leads which would assist in identifying the current whereabouts of Jermaine Jackson,” O’Connell said
In her lawsuit, Barrett says she met Jackson when she worked as a musician’s contractor, as a member of the Musician’s Union and through family connections to Motown founder Berry Gordy, who was in a business relationship with the plaintiff’s husband. Gordy, now 95, is not a defendant in the suit.
Jackson allegedly went to Barrett’s home in the spring of 1988 without notice, entered and sexually assaulted her with “force and violence,” the suit filed in December 2023 states.
Barrett feared for her life and the next day told Gordy what allegedly happened, but the music mogul “withheld and concealed the acts, further perpetuating the coverup and allowing Mr. Gordy, defendant Jackson and others in the business relationship to continue to reap profits derived from Mr. Jackson’s work and reputation for years to come,” the suit alleges.
Gordy soon thereafter sold Motown “for great profit,” the suit states.
Barrett gave an account of what allegedly happened in her own sworn statement.
“While in my house, Jermaine Jackson gestured as though he was going to kiss me and I preemptively refused,” Barrett says. “I believe this refusal angered him and he pushed me down to the floor, climbed on top of me and proceeded to forcefully rape me.”
The alleged attack has caused Barrett long-term trauma and has negatively affected her family life as well as her personal connections with former colleagues, she further says.