I’m not sure what is bigger news: that singer Jermaine Jackson has filed for sole custody of his two young sons or that he was actually working when he got news of allegations of abuse by the boys’ mother. Jackson was apparently on the set of a pilot for a television show recently,when he was contacted by the Los Angeles Police Department. LAPD picked Jaafar and Jermajesty Jackson (the celebrity kid names on this blog get more ridiculous by the day, I swear) up from school after Jermajesty, 8, told a teacher that his mother has slapped him repeatedly across the face.

Jackson’s ex-wife Alejandra Jackson previously had primary physical custody of the boys. They lived at the Jackson family compound in Encino, California with family matriarch Katherine Jackson.

The boys are now in Jermaine Jackson’s custody and he is seeking sole custody with supervised visitation for Alejandra.  Jackson’s family law attorney is Gary Mitchell, who previously represented actress Pamela Bach in her divorce from David Hasselhoff.

All parties met with the Department of Children and Family Services this week. While there, Alejandra was served with legal papers filed by Jermaine several weeks ago requesting that his spousal support payments be lowered because his income has fallen.

And, if you all thought Michael was the strange one – listen to Jermaine’s story. He married Hazel Gordy in 1973. They had children Jay in 1977 and Autumn in 1978. In 1987, while in the midst of a divorce, Hazel had their third child Jaimy. Meanwhile, Jermaine had started an affair with Margaret Maldonado. They had a child, Jeremy, in 1986 (before the divorce from Hazel). Though never married, Jermaine and Margaret stayed together for eight years and had another child, Jourdynn, in 1989.

Almost immediately after his split from Maldonado, Jermaine married Alejandra in 1995. This caused a bit of a family stir as Alejandra was previously in a relationship with Jermaine’s brother Randy. Alejandra and Randy have two children, Genevieve and Randy Jr. Jermaine is now married again and has converted to Islam.

Alejandra and Jermaine had Jaafar and Jermajesty then separated in 2004. Their split was finalized in 2008. They reportedly did not need a divorce because their marriage was invalid. Alejandra was married to someone else (supposedly for green card purposes) when she and Jermaine originally wed.

This story could be a bad family law exam in law school. Every topic is covered. Quite a twisted family tree – even without factoring in Michael and his offspring.