Michael Jackson 'kept photos of naked children and pornography stash' at Neverland Ranch, records show
Michael Jackson kept picture books, magazines and videos depicting nude children, animal sacrifice and pornography at his Neverland Ranch, police documents show.
Records of evidence gathered by police during their 2003 raids of the singer’s home in California have been published by RadarOnline almost seven years after his death.
The evidence was used at Jackson’s subsequent trial on charges of child molestation but a jury acquitted him of all 14 charges in 2005.
Records compiled by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department alleged that Jackson used the images, dominantly featuring young men and boys, as “part of the grooming process by which people are able to lower the inhibitions of children and facilitate the molestation”.
Among the material seized were “notes, diaries, documents, photographs, audiotapes and videotapes”, along with more than 80 video recordings and computer hard drives.
Ron Zonen, the Santa Barbara senior assistant district attorney who worked on the prosecution in the trial, told Radar Online that Jackson used the images to “desensitise” children and admitted sharing his bed with them.
“We identified five different boys, who all made allegations of sexual abuse,” he added. “There’s not much question in my mind that Michael was guilty of child molestation
Michael Jackson 'kept photos of naked children and pornography stash' at Neverland Ranch, records show | People | News | The Independent
Michael Jackson kept picture books, magazines and videos depicting nude children, animal sacrifice and pornography at his Neverland Ranch, police documents show.
Records of evidence gathered by police during their 2003 raids of the singer’s home in California have been published by RadarOnline almost seven years after his death.
The evidence was used at Jackson’s subsequent trial on charges of child molestation but a jury acquitted him of all 14 charges in 2005.
Records compiled by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department alleged that Jackson used the images, dominantly featuring young men and boys, as “part of the grooming process by which people are able to lower the inhibitions of children and facilitate the molestation”.
Among the material seized were “notes, diaries, documents, photographs, audiotapes and videotapes”, along with more than 80 video recordings and computer hard drives.
Ron Zonen, the Santa Barbara senior assistant district attorney who worked on the prosecution in the trial, told Radar Online that Jackson used the images to “desensitise” children and admitted sharing his bed with them.
“We identified five different boys, who all made allegations of sexual abuse,” he added. “There’s not much question in my mind that Michael was guilty of child molestation
Michael Jackson 'kept photos of naked children and pornography stash' at Neverland Ranch, records show | People | News | The Independent