Jackson, 45, is charged with seven counts of committing lewd acts on a child under the age of 14 and two counts of giving the boy an "intoxicant," reportedly wine. Jackson has pleaded not guilty to all counts and is due in court Feb. 13 for a hearing in the case.
No names are being disclosed in the case. But the man --who lost custody of his son and other children after pleading no contest to child cruelty and spousal abuse -- is also seeking to remove a restraining order that prohibits him from having contact with his family, according to his attorney.
"What we're asking for is joint custody," lawyer Russell Halpern tells the news service. "We're saying the father is not a danger to his children. He's attended parenting classes and anger-management classes."
Halpern said his client considers the custody alteration an "emergency situation" in light of the charges against Jackson.
"He has received information from the news media that his son has been the subject of child-molestation accusations and has suffered a relapse of his cancer," Halpern said. "He wants to offer comfort to the child and find out what is really going on with the allegations."
He added: "One of our concerns is that if the molestation charges are true they occurred on the mother's watch. The mother put the child in a position where they occurred, if true."
An attorney for the boy's mother declined comment.
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