A former juror on the 2005 Michael Jackson child-molestation case says she would still cast a vote of not guilty if the trial were held today.

More than a decade removed from the proceedings, Paulina Coccoz maintains that Jackson was wrongly prosecuted by attorneys on behalf of the parents of Gavin Arvizo, a 13-year-old cancer patient that Jackson had befriended years before.

'It’s really important for me to share my story because when I talk, even in my daily life to people that I don’t know or even with people I know, everybody still thinks he was guilty,' Coccoz, known as juror #10, told Fox News in an interview published Friday.

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Paulina Coccoz (pictured left) still maintains that Michael Jackson is innocent of all charges stemming from a 2005 child molestation case

Prosecutors accused the pop star of molesting a 13-year-old boy with cancer by giving him alcohol in order to abuse him. He is pictured in 2005

In June 2005, Jackson was acquitted of all charges stemming from sexual molestation claims following a four-month trial.

Suspicions first arose in February 2003 following the broadcast of the British documentary 'Living with Michael Jackson.'

Viewers were outraged after footage of the musician holding hands with Arvizo at Jackson's Santa Barbra, California estate, known as Neverland Ranch - named after the fantasy island in the story of Peter Pan - was aired to TV audiences.

Jackson later admitted in the documentary that he shared his bed with children, which he insisted was a non-sexual act of affection.

Prosecutors shortly therafter charged Jackson, accusing the singer of making the teenager drink alcohol so he could abuse him, despite the family insisting at the time that no inappropriate contact had occurred between the two.

Jackson was acquitted on all charges after a four-month trial (Jackson supporter holds up sign of support in Tennessee, 2005)

Suspicions first arose following the airing of a British documentary that showed Jackson holding hands with a young boy (Protesters demonstrating against Jackson in 2005)

Before the trial commenced, Coccoz said she was prepared to find the world famous singer guilty if the prosecutors presented a credible case.

'For me, it was a real sensitive spot,' she admitted. 'I took it kind of personal in a way that you would never want something like that to happen to your children,' said the mother of three.

'So I really didn’t think or care that he was Michael Jackson. If he was doing these things that he was being accused of, I didn’t feel that I had any problem finding him guilty if that was the case.'

But as proceedings carried on, Coccoz and other members of the jury felt that the family had 'ulterior motives' in prosecuting Jackson, and were looking to exploit the pop star for financial gain.

'There were a lot of moments where you felt... ulterior motives was money,' said Coccoz. 'And it appeared that they were imposing themselves on everyone that they could... There were a lot of moments, really.'

Coccoz added that she and other jurors were off-put Arvizo's mother, and said that she would stare the jury down and snap her fingers.

Coccoz also said that she felt that Arvizo's demeanor during the trial was peculiar, and not indicative of someone who had experienced severe sexual trauma.

'Because I have boys, I guess that’s my experience I’m using to refer to,' she said.

Jackson died in 2009 of cardiac arrest at the age of 50 after his personal doctor overdosed him with a powerful anesthetic used for surgery (Jackson arrives at court for trial, 2005)

'Boys are pretty obvious in their mannerisms. [And] he didn’t seem upset…when you put kids in a situation where they’re suddenly surrounded by adults, you see a different person…when it comes to talking about being molested, I would imagine that’s a very difficult, difficult thing to talk about, especially in front of a lot of people in a courtroom setting.'

'So I can see how it’s something that would be upsetting. [For him], it’s something where it would come across as "no big deal, just another day in the courtroom."'

The former juror recalled the look on Jackson's face at the moment the court heard the verdict of not guilty following 17 days of deliberations.

'I remember looking and I could see that there was a tear running down his face…we were all very emotional. It was a very emotional moment,' she revealed.

Coccoz later lamented that the general public still believes Jackson is guilty of such crimes and described the late pop star as 'a wonderful human being.'

'I find it hard to believe that it’s still going on. That’s not what happened… he was accused of some horrible, horrible things and it’s a sad thing that we lost such a wonderful human being on this planet.'

'We need to all look at things for what they were instead of saying, "Oh yeah, he was a freak... He was guilty because he was a freak." Everybody’s different and God forbid we should all be judged in a courtroom because we’re a freak and we’re guilty.'

She told Fox News that if she were presiding as a juror over the case today, she would still vote not guilty based on the evidence.

'It was pretty obvious that there was no molestation done,' she said. 'It was pretty obvious that there were ulterior motives on behalf of the family. And the mother, she orchestrated the whole thing… that’s my opinion. But there wasn’t a shred of evidence that was able to show us or give us any doubt in voting guilty. It was pretty obvious there was no other way to vote other than not guilty.'

Jackson was first accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 1993. Jackson maintained his innocence but later settled out of court with the family of Jordan Chandler for a reported $20 million.

Jackson died in 2009 of cardiac arrest at the age of 50 after his personal doctor accidentally overdosed him with a powerful anesthetic used for surgery.



The Oxygen network is set to air a four-night special on the Jackson trial called 'The Jury Speaks,' with extensive interviews from jurors including Coccoz who hopes it will set the record straight.