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in Santa Maria, Calif., on Thursday afternoon or Friday morning, prosecutors said Tuesday.
The charges will be filed at the courthouse near the King of Pop's Neverland Ranch, District Attorney Thomas Sneddon (search) said in a statement.
On Monday, a press release giving the same basic information was posted online at
http://www.countyofsb.org/da/press.asp.
The Web page, aimed at disseminating information to journalists, is a testament to the intense media interest the case has generated. In fact, Sneddon said he has hired a public relations firm to handle the crush of news media inquiries.
Sneddon's hiring of a PR firm drew criticism from Jackson family spokesman Brian Oxman (search) who said it was improper, because "a district attorney is supposed to try the case in court, not in the press."
Oxman also repeated criticism of Sneddon for making jokes at a news conference when Jackson's arrest warrant was announced.
"It is an affront to common sense, if not professional ethics, for a DA to have a celebrity crisis management team, which is what this new PR firm styles itself as being," Oxman said. He added: "First we had a press conference where the DA told jokes, and now we have a PR firm the DA has hired that also represents the Cartoon Network."
Tellem Worldwide president Susan Tellem said she contacted Sneddon last month and offered to help with "media coordination" without pay. She said that the firm has a history of volunteering and that she felt it could help both Sneddon and the news media.
She said the company would help later this week when Sneddon holds a news conference about the expected charges.
Among the clients listed on Tellem's Web site are Nickelodeon, the Cartoon Network, Universal Studios Hollywood and Warner Bros. Online. The site includes a description of 10 services the firm offers. Among them are publicity, crisis management and Web-page design.
"Their 'Celebs in Crisis' service will directly, or in concert with other agencies, develop position statements, provide crisis-focused media training and work with lawyers, agents, managers and other entities to help turn a potentially damaging situation into a more positive one bringing the crisis to a more speedy solution," the site says.
Jackson, who has proclaimed his innocence, is free on $3 million bail.