Michael Jackson was acquitted on Monday of all charges against him by a jury that absorbed three months of often lurid testimony about his life and relationships with young boys but rejected a teenager's claim that Mr. Jackson plied him with liquor and sexually molested him.

Mr. Jackson walked free after a Santa Maria jury found him not guilty of four charges of child molesting, one charge of attempted child molesting, one conspiracy charge and eight possible counts of providing alcohol to minors. Together, the charges could have brought 20 years in prison. Instead, Mr. Jackson is free to try to reclaim a career that has been in decline for a decade as he seemed to retreat more into his own private world with each passing year.

The eight women and four men of the jury deliberated for about 30 hours over seven days before saying shortly after noon that they had reached a verdict.

The courtroom was silent and tense as the court clerk began to read the verdicts at 2:13 p.m. Pacific Time. When it became clear that the jury had found that prosecutors had not proved their case against him, Mr. Jackson dabbed at his eyes with a tissue, and one of his lawyers, Susan C. Yu, began sobbing quietly.

Mr. Jackson's parents, Katherine and Joe, who had sat through almost every day of the 14-week trial, showed no emotion. Nor did his brothers Randy and Jermaine and his sisters LaToya and Rebbie, who were seated directly behind him. Another sister, Janet, waited outside because there were only six seats for family inside.

The family left the courtroom without speaking to the hundreds of reporters from around the world who had converged on this small Central Coast city to cover the latest of California's celebrity trials.

When word of the verdict spread, several hundred Jackson fans who were gathered outside the courthouse screamed in approval, embraced one another and threw confetti. A woman released one white dove for each count on which Mr. Jackson was acquitted. When Mr. Jackson emerged a half hour later, he quietly blew kisses to the fans and then disappeared into a black S.U.V. for the trip to his storybook Neverland estate.

Source: Agencies