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Man Wanted On Child Sex Abuse Charges Gives Name As Michael Jackson After Being Stopped By Authorities In S.C.

Kenneth Michael Wright may have thought he was a "Smooth Criminal," during a routine traffic stop, but he wasn't fooling anyone.

By Ethan Harfenist

Before he was arrested on child sex abuse charges, a South Carolina man tried to get away with a “Bad” lie by giving authorities the name Michael Jackson.

A deputy with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s office stopped a motorist for “defective equipment” before noticing that “a foamy liquid” was between his feet on the floorboard of his car, according to a press release. The officer recognized the liquid and the smell permeating from the car as beer.

“The driver told the deputy he forgot his driver’s license,” the release said. “He also told the deputy his name was Michael Jackson and gave a birth date. The deputy ran the information through dispatch and it came back with no record.”

However, the driver was eventually identified the driver as 56-year-old Kenneth Michael Wright.

Kenneth Michael Wright

“The Thriller of it all was that Wright had an active warrant through Berkeley County for Criminal Sexual Conduct with a minor,” the release said. “Wright also had several warrants from Charleston County for Fraud and Failure to Appear.”

The department ended its humorous Facebook post with a series of King of Pop-referencing-hashtags: #YoureNotASmoothCriminal, #ReallyMichaelJackson, #MoonWalkingOnLies and #JustBeatItToHillFinklea.

Wright was booked and charged with giving false information to police, having an open container of beer in his car and displaying tags for another vehicle.

Wright was in jail at the Hill Finklea Detention Center, according to local outlet WBTV. His bond on the new charges was set at $852, though no bond was set for the child sex abuse charge.

Jackson’s alleged child sexual abuse once again entered the national conversation last month with the airing of the HBO documentary “Leaving Neverland,” in which two men who say they were victims of Jackson spoke about their harrowing experiences with the pop star as children.

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