While we don’t cover famed lawyer John Manly—the attorney whom, with his partner Vince Finaldi and their indefatigable crew, blasted open the Diocese of Orange sex-abuse scandal—as much as we used to, it’s not for a lack of stories on his part. Most recently, their firm Manly, Stewart, and Finaldi has been eviscerating the Los Angeles Unified School District over LAUSD’s pedophile teacher scandal, and gone after kiddie diddlers and their protectors nationwide.
Now, the guys are setting their scopes at the most notorious accused celebrity molester not named Woody Allen: Michael Jackson.
In a press release posted yesterday, it was revealed that Manly, Stewart and Finaldi now represent Wade Robson, a successful choreographer who says Jackson molested him when he was seven all the way to 14. He filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court back in 2013 against MJJ Productions and MJJ Ventures over the alleged abuse, and is now represented by Manly, Stewart, and Finaldi.
But for Manly, it’s never about the money, but rather the unvarnished truth. That’s why he’s asking the Jackson estate to release anyone whom they settled similar cases with from confidentiality agreements in the hope that the truth about the King of Pop can come out. “If Michael Jackson truly had nothing to hide, then the Jackson Estate should have nothing to fear from allowing the families they paid off to speak out freely,” Manly is quoted as saying.
From the press release:
In a letter sent today to attorneys representing the Jackson Estate, Manly noted that under California law it is “illegal to make a child sex abuse settlement confidential” and that “many large institutions in the business of protecting children have publicly released alleged victims from their confidentiality obligations when child molestation allegations have been settled.” He went on to point out that “it is widely recognized that only in secrecy can child sex abuse flourish and continue.”
One thing about Manly and Finaldi: They don’t take on cases willy-nilly but rather only after a lot of deliberation and assurance that the victim’s story is solid. Godspeed, gentlemen!
