SANTA MARIA, California (AP) – A jury acquitted Michael Jackson yesterday of molesting a 13 year-old cancer survivor at his Neverland ranch – exonerating the pop star who insisted he was the victim of mother-and-son con artists and a prosecutor with a vendetta.

Jurors also acquitted Jackson of getting the boy drunk and of conspiring to imprison his accuser and the boy’s family at the storybook estate – a total legal victory but one that may do little to improve his bizarre image. Jackson had faced nearly 20 years in prison.

The courtroom was deathly still as the verdicts were read. Jackson, as motionless as he had been throughout the trial, dabbed at his eyes with a tissue. One of his lawyers burst into tears as the first verdicts were announced, and Jackson later stood and was embraced by his chief lawyer, Thomas Mesereau Jr. Some of the women in the jury also wept and passed around a box of tissues.

As he left court, Jackson, looking drawn, held his hand to his heart and blew kisses to the screaming crowd. He was escorted by his aides into a black SUV, and made no immediate public statement.

Jackson later arrived at Neverland, where applauding fans ran after his caravan as it disappeared behind the bunting-decorated gates.

“I would never have married a paedophile. And the system works,” Jackson’s ex-wife Debbie Rowe said in a statement given to Entertainment Tonight.

Screams of joy rang out among a throng of fans outside the courthouse. Fans jumped up and down, hugged each other and threw confetti in celebration of the news. A woman in the crowd released one white dove as each acquittal was announced.

Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon sat with his head in his hands.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed in the verdict … but we believe in the system of justice,” Sneddon told reporters. He said he had not yet spoken to the accuser’s family about the outcome.

Jurors later held a news conference in which they described how they reached their decision. “I can’t really point to one specific item right now. There was tons of evidence to consider, and to pick one item out would be really difficult. I would just say we considered all of the evidence,” juror No 1 said. Jurors were not identified by name.

The verdict – reached after about 30 hours of deliberations over seven days – ended a star-studded, four-month trial that offered a global audience a lurid look into the weird world of Michael Jackson and presented jurors with vastly different portraits of him: a creepy pervert who preyed on little boys, or the victim of a frame-up by mother-and-son shakedown artists.

During the trial, defence lawyers described Jackson as a humanitarian who wanted to protect kids and give them the life he never had while growing up as a child star. The boy had asked to meet the star when he thought he was dying of cancer.

The defence said the family exploited the boy’s illness to shake down celebrities, then concocted the charges after realising Jackson was cutting them off from a jet-set lifestyle that included limo rides and stays at luxurious resorts.

Prosecutors who had been pursuing Jackson for years branded him a deviant who used his playland as the ultimate pervert’s lair, plying boys with booze and porn before molesting them.

The acquittals marked a stinging defeat for Sneddon, who displayed open hostility for Jackson and eagerly tried him – an opportunity denied him in 1993 when the star settled another threatened molestation case with a boy for $15 million to $20 million. Later, Jackson derided Sneddon in song as “a cold man”.

Jackson was cleared of 10 charges in all, including four counts that he molested the boy in early 2003. Jackson also was charged with providing the boy with wine – “Jesus juice”, the pop star called it – and conspiring with members of his inner circle to hold the accuser and his family captive to get them to rebut a damaging documentary.

In the “Living with Michael Jackson” documentary made by a British journalist, Jackson held hands with the boy and acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.

Jackson agreed to take part in the documentary because he hoped it would help his image after years of eccentric behaviour that included transforming his face through plastic surgery.

But the airing of the programme in February 2003 triggered intense media scrutiny of Jackson’s relationship with the boy, as well as calls for investigations. Authorities interviewed the boy and Jackson was charged before year’s end. At the trial, prosecutors would allege that Jackson molested the boy in the weeks after the family helped Jackson record a rebuttal video.

The boy, now 15, testified that Jackson twice masturbated him while they were under the covers in the singer’s bedroom. The boy’s brother testified he twice witnessed Jackson fondle the boy as he slept.

Prosecutors hauled out bag after bag of adult magazines found in Jackson’s home and projected explicit images onto a large screen, saying Jackson showed boys the material to arouse them.

Prosecution witnesses described other bizarre behaviour by Jackson: They said he licked his accuser’s head, simulated a sex act with a mannequin, kept dolls in bondage outfits on his desk.

Prosecutors said kids were allowed the run of Neverland – a fantasy land of amusement park rides, golf carts and exotic animals about 110 miles (180 kilometres) northwest of Los Angeles – before being molested in Jackson’s bedroom.

“They rode rides, went to the zoo, ate whatever they wanted – candy, ice cream, soda pop,” prosecutor Ron Zonen said in closing arguments. “And at night they entered into the world of the forbidden.”

Under an unusual California law, prosecutors were allowed to introduce evidence of other instances of molestation on Jackson’s part that never resulted in any charges, to prove that the alleged crimes were part of a pattern of behaviour.

Jackson never took the stand, but spoke on several videos played in court.

The case unfolded at times like a circus. After his arraignment, Jackson jumped atop an SUV and danced for cheering fans. He failed to show up for court one morning and was nearly jailed before he shuffled in wearing pajama bottoms, suffering from what aides said was a back injury. Often, he came to court in dark jackets and a rainbow of vests and matching arm bands.

The jury got a look at the strange world of Michael Jackson when the documentary was played in court. Jackson said he would often hug or play with his chimp Bubbles to relax after a hard day’s work.

He also said he once considered having a celebrity animal party for Bubbles.

The trial seemed to wear Jackson down. He lost weight, and the artist known for his electric, moonwalking performances was rendered motionless, seemingly frozen in his courtroom chair as his private world became utterly public.