Post by MJSUNIFC on Mar 17, 2005 11:22:35 GMT -5
Jackson prosecutors show jurors adult mags, DVDS
TIM MOLLOY
Associated Press
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Prosecutors showed jurors a series of sexually explicit magazines, DVDs and videos seized from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, but law enforcement witnesses acknowledged there was no evidence the singer had shown any of them to the boy he is accused of molesting.
With his parents seated behind him, Jackson watched Wednesday as prosecutors used a large screen to display movie and magazine covers featuring provocatively posed women in various states of undress. Jurors were stone-faced as they viewed the items and listened to detectives testify that they were found in Jackson's bedroom suite during a Nov. 18, 2003 search.
Prosecutors allege Jackson showed adult magazines to the boy while trying to lure him into molestation, but witnesses acknowledged Wednesday that one of the magazines and one DVD had dates on their covers indicating they were not available until after March 12, 2003, when Jackson's accuser left Neverland for the last time.
Witnesses also said under cross-examination that all the items were legal and sold in stores.
There were so many exhibits Wednesday that District Attorney Tom Sneddon apparently lost track of one.
"Man, I can't find 62," he whispered to another prosecutor at one point, referring to the exhibit by its number.
At another point, a witness asked jurors if they could see the screen clearly.
"They probably don't want to," Sneddon remarked.
Detective Paul Zelis testified that one of the magazines was found in a nightstand drawer that also contained a studio photograph of the accuser, his brother and sister.
Under questioning from defense attorney Robert Sanger, Zelis acknowledged that the magazines were not tested for fingerprints until after grand jury hearings in March and April 2004.
Zelis did not say whether any fingerprints were found on the magazines, but Sanger asked if the accuser had handled them during his appearance before the grand jury. Zelis said he didn't know.
Prosecutors said in opening statements that some magazines had Jackson's and the accuser's fingerprints. The defense claims Jackson once caught the boy and his brother going through his magazines and took them away.
In his cross-examination, Sanger noted that one Penthouse magazine had a cover date of July/August 2003 and asked Lt. Victor Alvarez, who participated in the search of Jackson's home, if the boy or his brother had alleged that Jackson showed them the magazine.
"This particular one?" Alvarez said, "I don't know."
Asked if he suspected the boys did not see it, Alvarez agreed that such magazines usually come out about a month before the cover date and that subscribers might get them a month or two earlier.
The DVD had a printed release date of March 27, 2003 - 15 days after the family left the ranch.
Last week, the accuser's brother testified that a copy of Barely Legal magazine shown by the prosecution was the exact one Jackson had shown him. The defense pointed out that it was dated August 2003.
Sanger asked another witness, Detective Karen Shephard, about three seized books she described as "adult material." Sanger said they were art or photography books, and that Jackson routinely receives such books from photographers hoping to photograph him.
The books were entitled "Camp Cove: Photos of Sydney Men," "Scenes D'Interieur," and "Dressup: Playacts and Fantasies of Childhood."
The materials were displayed after morning testimony from the lead investigator in the case, who testified that the accuser "choked up" when he was first interviewed about the alleged crimes and that the boy said there were five to seven incidents but could only describe two of them in detail.
"He was fine with talking to us," sheriff's Sgt. Steve Robel said of the boy's initial interview. "... When I got into the molestation acts I noticed a change in (his) demeanor. He became very quiet, folded his arms and sank down into his chair. ... He even became choked up."
The new questions about the number of alleged molestations followed Robel's testimony Tuesday that the boy twice told investigators he was molested five times. The boy himself testified earlier to only two molestations but said he believed there may have been more.
Robel said Wednesday that the boy told him "it happened between five and seven times but he could not articulate exactly" what happened every time.
The investigator said that since the first interviews of the boy in July 2003 he has only been able to provide detailed accounts of two alleged molestations.
The possibility of the alleged victim not being aware or fully aware at certain times has been raised in testimony by the boy's brother, who said he twice witnessed his brother being molested while asleep.
source:sanluisobispo.com
www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/11153474.htm
TIM MOLLOY
Associated Press
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Prosecutors showed jurors a series of sexually explicit magazines, DVDs and videos seized from Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch, but law enforcement witnesses acknowledged there was no evidence the singer had shown any of them to the boy he is accused of molesting.
With his parents seated behind him, Jackson watched Wednesday as prosecutors used a large screen to display movie and magazine covers featuring provocatively posed women in various states of undress. Jurors were stone-faced as they viewed the items and listened to detectives testify that they were found in Jackson's bedroom suite during a Nov. 18, 2003 search.
Prosecutors allege Jackson showed adult magazines to the boy while trying to lure him into molestation, but witnesses acknowledged Wednesday that one of the magazines and one DVD had dates on their covers indicating they were not available until after March 12, 2003, when Jackson's accuser left Neverland for the last time.
Witnesses also said under cross-examination that all the items were legal and sold in stores.
There were so many exhibits Wednesday that District Attorney Tom Sneddon apparently lost track of one.
"Man, I can't find 62," he whispered to another prosecutor at one point, referring to the exhibit by its number.
At another point, a witness asked jurors if they could see the screen clearly.
"They probably don't want to," Sneddon remarked.
Detective Paul Zelis testified that one of the magazines was found in a nightstand drawer that also contained a studio photograph of the accuser, his brother and sister.
Under questioning from defense attorney Robert Sanger, Zelis acknowledged that the magazines were not tested for fingerprints until after grand jury hearings in March and April 2004.
Zelis did not say whether any fingerprints were found on the magazines, but Sanger asked if the accuser had handled them during his appearance before the grand jury. Zelis said he didn't know.
Prosecutors said in opening statements that some magazines had Jackson's and the accuser's fingerprints. The defense claims Jackson once caught the boy and his brother going through his magazines and took them away.
In his cross-examination, Sanger noted that one Penthouse magazine had a cover date of July/August 2003 and asked Lt. Victor Alvarez, who participated in the search of Jackson's home, if the boy or his brother had alleged that Jackson showed them the magazine.
"This particular one?" Alvarez said, "I don't know."
Asked if he suspected the boys did not see it, Alvarez agreed that such magazines usually come out about a month before the cover date and that subscribers might get them a month or two earlier.
The DVD had a printed release date of March 27, 2003 - 15 days after the family left the ranch.
Last week, the accuser's brother testified that a copy of Barely Legal magazine shown by the prosecution was the exact one Jackson had shown him. The defense pointed out that it was dated August 2003.
Sanger asked another witness, Detective Karen Shephard, about three seized books she described as "adult material." Sanger said they were art or photography books, and that Jackson routinely receives such books from photographers hoping to photograph him.
The books were entitled "Camp Cove: Photos of Sydney Men," "Scenes D'Interieur," and "Dressup: Playacts and Fantasies of Childhood."
The materials were displayed after morning testimony from the lead investigator in the case, who testified that the accuser "choked up" when he was first interviewed about the alleged crimes and that the boy said there were five to seven incidents but could only describe two of them in detail.
"He was fine with talking to us," sheriff's Sgt. Steve Robel said of the boy's initial interview. "... When I got into the molestation acts I noticed a change in (his) demeanor. He became very quiet, folded his arms and sank down into his chair. ... He even became choked up."
The new questions about the number of alleged molestations followed Robel's testimony Tuesday that the boy twice told investigators he was molested five times. The boy himself testified earlier to only two molestations but said he believed there may have been more.
Robel said Wednesday that the boy told him "it happened between five and seven times but he could not articulate exactly" what happened every time.
The investigator said that since the first interviews of the boy in July 2003 he has only been able to provide detailed accounts of two alleged molestations.
The possibility of the alleged victim not being aware or fully aware at certain times has been raised in testimony by the boy's brother, who said he twice witnessed his brother being molested while asleep.
source:sanluisobispo.com
www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/politics/11153474.htm