Nearly 18 months after a woman sued Jermaine Jackson for allegedly sexually assaulting her at her home in 1988, the singer has yet to be served with the complaint, and the plaintiff’s lead attorney states in new court papers that service by an appropriate media publication remains the most viable option.
Rita Butler Barrett’s Van Nuys Superior Court lawsuit alleges sexual battery and assault and negligence. On Thursday, her lawyer, Michael Reck, filed a sworn declaration with Judge Huey P. Cotton stating that multiple attempts to locate Jackson and serve him in person have not been successful.
Reck states 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 possible residence in Westlake Village. Reck also said that his office hired private investigator Maureen O’Connell and her company. O’Connell gave her own sworn statement about the search, stating 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 says.
A hearing on Barrett’s motion to serve Jackson by publication is scheduled June 17.
In her lawsuit, Barrett says she met Jackson while working as a musician’s contractor, a member of the Musicians’ Union, and through family connections to Motown founder Berry Gordy, who had a business relationship with her 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 told Gordy the next day 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 negatively affected her family life, as well as her personal relationships with former colleagues, she says.
