Jermaine Jackson to pay $6.5 million after failing to acknowledge sexual assault lawsuit of the 1988 spring incident

TRIGGER WARNING: This article includes references to sexual assault and rape.

Jermaine Jackson, brother of the late Pop icon Michael Jackson, gets a legal notice after he breached the requirement to answer the lawsuit. As a default judgment by the Los Angeles court, the 71-year-old singer has been ordered to pay USD 6.5 million to Rita Butler Barrett, who sued him alleging sexual assault.

Jermaine Jackson gets into legal trouble after being accused of sexual assault

The official complaint was lodged in December 2023, when Barrett reportedly accused Jackson of violent sexual abuse in the spring of 1988, by forcibly stepping into her house. After failing to acknowledge the lawsuit, Jackson has to pay millions of dollars as compensatory damages and costs, according to People Magazine.



As per the complaint, she knew the Jackson 5 singer from professional and personal connections through her husband, Ben Barrett, and worked closely with Berry Gordy, the founder of the renowned record label. Moreover, Barrett mentioned that she feared for her life and claimed he left after he felt ‘satiated.’ “During the assault, Plaintiff, a woman of faith, prayed to God for help,” the complaint affirmed, adding, “During the assault, Plaintiff feared for her life,” reported the outlet.

Barrett claimed that she detailed the incident to Gordy, the former brother-in-law of Jackson, but he withheld and concealed the information to preserve profits and protect the image. Alleging that it was a ‘cover-up,’ Barrett highlighted that she “suffered severe emotional, physical, and psychological injury, including humiliation, shame, guilt, economic loss, economic capacity, and permanent emotional distress.”

About Jermaine Jackson

Jermaine Jackson, the father of the ‘Michael’ biopic star, Jafar Jackson, tied the knot with Hazel Gordy in 1973, five years after signing a record deal with her brother’s firm. According to Entertainment Weekly, she filed for divorce in November 1987, as he had a child with another woman.


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