Page "Trial of Michael Jackson" Paragraph 15

In August 1998, the Arvizo family was detained on a shoplifting charge at a J. C. Penney department store in West Covina, California.

According to J. C. Penney, Gavin and Star Arvizo were sent out of the store by their father with an armload of stolen clothes, the family was detained and Janet started a " scuffle " with the security guards.

The shoplifting charge was dropped, but Janet filed a lawsuit, saying that when she was detained she was " viciously beaten " by three security officers, one of whom was female.

In her booking photo from the arrest she appears uninjured, but for the lawsuit she submitted two pictures of her showing bruises all over her body.

The paralegal she hired would later testify at the Jackson trial that Janet told her the beating was actually inflicted by her husband.

J. C. Penney hired a psychiatrist to evaluate Janet Arvizo and found her to have rehearsed her children into supporting her story and to be both " delusional " and " depressed ," although Janet's own doctor found her to be only the latter.

More than two years after the original alleged incident, Janet added a further charge that one of the male officers had " sexually fondled " her breasts and pelvis area for " up to seven minutes ," a claim which shocked her lawyer.

Ultimately the department store settled out of court with the family for US $ 152, 000.