Default Judgment Issued in Jackson 1988 Rape Lawsuit
- Jermaine Jackson, a co-founder of the Jackson 5 and the older brother of Michael Jackson, has been ordered by a court to pay $6.5 million in damages following...
- The judgment was issued in the Los Angeles Superior Court in a case brought by Rita Barrett.
- The lawsuit, which was filed in 2023, centers on allegations that Jackson broke into Barrett's residence and raped her in 1988.
Jermaine Jackson, a co-founder of the Jackson 5 and the older brother of Michael Jackson, has been ordered by a court to pay $6.5 million in damages following a lawsuit accusing him of rape. A default judgment was delivered on May 14, 2026, after Jackson failed to respond to the legal action.
The judgment was issued in the Los Angeles Superior Court in a case brought by Rita Barrett. According to court records and reporting from Pitchfork, the court also ordered Jackson to pay $7,131.84 in legal costs to Barrett.
The lawsuit, which was filed in 2023, centers on allegations that Jackson broke into Barrett’s residence and raped her in 1988. Barrett stated in the filing that she had known Jackson for several years prior to the alleged assault through her professional work as a contractor for musicians.
The legal proceedings were made possible through California’s Sexual Abuse and Cover Up Accountability Act. This legislation allows survivors of sexual misconduct to pursue civil claims by temporarily waiving the statute of limitations that would otherwise prevent such cases from being filed decades after the alleged events occurred.
The path to the default judgment involved significant efforts by Barrett’s legal team to notify Jackson of the lawsuit. After lawyers failed to locate Jackson, they sought and received court approval to serve him legal notice via a public announcement in The Los Angeles Times.
Despite the public notice, Jackson did not respond to the lawsuit. In April 2026, Barrett’s lawyers filed a 95-page document with the court arguing that a default judgment was warranted due to the lack of response. The court granted this request on May 14, 2026.
The lawsuit also included allegations regarding the aftermath of the assault. Barrett alleged that Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown, helped cover up the rape after she informed him of the incident the day after it occurred. The filing noted that Gordy was not named as a defendant in the civil suit.
Court records indicate that while Jackson failed to contest the lawsuit or respond to the legal notifications, he remained active in the public eye. In April 2026, Jackson attended the premiere of the Michael Jackson biopic in Hollywood.
A default judgment occurs when a defendant fails to respond to a summons or fails to appear in court, leading the judge to rule in favor of the plaintiff without a full trial on the merits of the case.
Representatives for both Jermaine Jackson and Rita Barrett were contacted for comment regarding the judgment, though no responses were cited in the reporting.
For those affected by sexual assault, support is available through the following resources:
- RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1 800 656 HOPE (4673) or https://www.rainn.org
- Crisis Text Line: Text
HELLO
orHOLA
to 741-741