| Thomas W. Sneddon, Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1941, Los Angeles |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | 33rd District Attorney of Santa Barbara County (retired) |
| Years active | 1983-2010 |
| Spouse | Pamela Sneddon |
| Children | 9 children (1 set of twins), 6 grandchildren |
Thomas W. Sneddon Jr. (born 1941 in Los Angeles) was the district attorney of Santa Barbara County, California. He had 22 years experience as a District Attorney and 35 years experience in prosecution. He is best known for prosecuting child molestation charges against entertainer Michael Jackson in 2005[1] – a trial that ended in Jackson being acquitted.
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Thomas Sneddon grew up in California. In 1963 Sneddon graduated from the University of Notre Dame, where he was on the boxing team; and in 1966 from UCLA Law School, where he met his wife.
From 1967-1969, during the Vietnam War, Tom Sneddon was in the U.S. Army.
From November 1969 until May 1977 Tom Sneddon served as a Deputy District Attorney in Santa Barbara County. In 1977, he was promoted to the position of Supervisor of Criminal Operations.
On January 3, 1983, Tom Sneddon became the 33rd District Attorney of Santa Barbara County and has been re-elected without opposition for 5 terms. As of 2010 he has retired from the DA’s office.
A father of 9 children, Tom Sneddon has a track record of being involved in children and family issues. He was Chair of the Committee for Child Support Enforcement since its inception in 1991. He was presented with a "Director's Award" in 1995 by the California Family Support Council. A year later he was appointed co-chair of the National District Attorney's Child Support Committee and invited by the US Attorney General Janet Reno to be a member of the Presidential Commission's Federal Task Force to review and enhance federal criminal prosecutions for failure to pay child support.
He is most notable for twice investigating Michael Jackson on child sexual abuse allegations in 1993 and 2005. The first criminal investigation was closed with no charges. Jackson settled a related civil suit with a civil settlement of over $15 million to the plaintiff Jordan Chandler. Chandler ceased cooperating with investigators after 2 grand juries returned a refusal to indict Jackson. The second set of allegations against Jackson resulted in a long trial which ended on June 13, 2005 with Jackson being acquitted.
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