Jackson praise was a lie: Ex-wife

Rowe, a prosecution witness, said that she had not seen any of them in several years and that the promised reunion never occurred.

Rowe said Jackson had asked her in a telephone conversation to make the videotape because the documentary was ‘‘full of lies’’ about his relations with children. She said the phone call had been arranged by several associates of Jackson who are named as unindicted co-conspirators in the 10-count indictment of Jackson.

Her testimony was the first to link Jackson directly to the men who, prosecutors contend, conspired to kidnap the family of the boy, now 15, who has accused Jackson of molesting him and to force them to make a videotape attesting to his character.

Jackson is charged with four counts of child molesting, one count of attempted child molesting and four counts of giving alcohol to a minor to aid in sexual abuse, in addition to the conspiracy count.

Rowe said that though she had been married to Jackson and bore two children by him, she never lived with them. She received limited visits with the children after the divorce and later gave up all parental rights. She is currently fighting in court to have her visiting rights restored.

Rowe had been an assistant to Jackson’s dermatologist and said she had known Jackson for more than 20 years. She smiled at the defendant several times during her 40 minutes on the stand on Wednesday. Her testimony is expected to continue on Thursday.

Rowe said she had been happy to participate in the videotaped interview because she had been led to believe it would bring her back in contact with her children. She insisted that the interview, conducted by Jackson’s associates, had not been scripted and that she had not seen any of the questions in advance.

‘‘I was excited to see Michael and the children,’’ she said, her voice cracking with emotion, ‘‘to be reintroduced to them and to be reacquainted with their dad.’’ —NYT