SANTA MARIA, California - Michael Jackson was able to monitor the telephone conversations of guests and staff at his Neverland Ranch, the jury in his child molestation trial heard Monday.
Famous guests who have stayed at the fantasy-style ranch in California over the years include the likes of Elizabeth Taylor and the late Marlon Brando.
Testifying in the case, the brother of the boy allegedly molested by Jackson two years ago told jurors how the pop superstar had shown them a way of listening in to phone calls made to and from Neverland.
A master phone in Jackson's main residence showed which lines were in use, and conversations could be monitored by a simple process of pressing the "mute" and "speaker" buttons and then connecting to the busy line, the brother said.
"He showed us one day and we listened in to a guard's conversation," he said, adding that this had happened on at least two separate occasions.
The witness was 11 years old at the time, while his brother, the alleged victim, was 13.
03/08/2005 00:10 GMT