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By Samuel López | USA Herald

He thought silence would save him. It didn't.

A Los Angeles Superior Court has entered a default judgment of more than $6.5 million against former Jackson 5 vocalist Jermaine Jackson — after he failed to respond to a rape and sexual assault lawsuit filed against him in December 2023. The ruling, issued Thursday, orders Jackson to pay the full sum to accuser Rita Butler Barrett, who alleged he broke into her home and violently sexually assaulted her in 1988.

When the legal system comes knocking and you don't answer the door, the court answers for you.

The Allegation That Would Not Stay Buried

Barrett's lawsuit describes a night more than three decades ago that she says changed her life forever. According to the complaint, Jackson — who had personal and professional ties to her through the music industry — forced his way into her home and sexually assaulted her "with force and violence." Barrett said she "feared for her life."

The connection ran deep. Barrett's husband, Ben Barrett, worked directly with Berry Gordy, the legendary founder of Motown Records — the label that launched the Jackson 5 into superstardom in 1968 and signed Jermaine as a solo artist. Just five years after that signing, Jermaine married Gordy's eldest daughter, Hazel Joy. By 1987, that marriage was unraveling: Hazel filed for divorce after Jermaine fathered a child with a mistress.

It was into that chaotic personal chapter — 1988, one year after the divorce filing — that Barrett says the assault occurred.

A Cover-Up Allegation and a Powerful Denial

Perhaps the most explosive element of the lawsuit isn't just what Barrett says Jermaine Jackson did — it's what she says happened the morning after.

Barrett claims she reported the assault directly to Berry Gordy the very next day. Rather than act, she alleges, Gordy "withheld and concealed the acts" to protect Jackson's career and his label's investment.

Gordy's legal team fired back hard on Saturday, calling Barrett's claims about the music mogul flatly false. His lawyers noted that Barrett did not sue Gordy, but instead "dragged his name into her 'factual' allegations" — giving him no legal mechanism to formally defend himself.

They warned that litigation privilege allows anyone to file a lawsuit "alleging anything, truthful or not," and that such allegations can then be repeated in the press as if proven. "Those allegations can then be repeated in the press as if they are credible," the statement read, "even when — as in this case — they are not."

Decades of Silence. Now, $6.5 Million.

For Barrett, this judgment is about more than money. Her attorney, Jeff Anderson — a nationally recognized advocate in clergy and celebrity abuse cases — framed it in terms of courage and reclamation.

"This is about her power and the declaration of it when she learned something could be done under the law," Anderson said in a statement. "She found the strength and support to find us and is now standing up for herself and others."

Barrett's lawsuit states she suffered "severe emotional, physical, and psychological injury, including humiliation, shame, guilt, economic loss, loss of economic capacity, and permanent emotional distress" — a catalog of harm that the court now says carries a $6.5 million price tag.

Representatives for Jermaine Jackson did not respond to requests for comment.

A Star Who Chose Silence Over Accountability

Jermaine Jackson built a career on being heard. He debuted as a solo artist with a cover of "Daddy's Home" that sold over one million copies. He released 14 albums. In 1980, he earned his only Grammy nomination for "Let's Get Serious." His final Billboard chart appearance — "Don't Take It Personal" in 1989 — hit No. 1 on the R&B singles chart.

But when a court demanded he appear and answer for the most serious allegation of his life, he chose silence.

That silence cost him $6.5 million — and his accuser her day in court, answered not by his words, but by a judge's gavel.

He is also the father of Jaafar Jackson, the young star who recently portrayed his late uncle Michael Jackson in the biographical film.

What This Ruling Means

A default judgment is not an acquittal. It is not a settlement. It is a court's declaration that the evidence and allegations stand uncontested — because the defendant chose not to contest them. Jermaine Jackson had every legal right and opportunity to defend himself. He didn't.

The $6.5 million judgment now stands as a matter of public record, and collection proceedings may follow.

For survivors watching this case, the message is clear: the legal system can and does act — even when the accused does not.

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