SANTA MARIA, California - Jurors in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial were Wednesday shown dozens of pornographic magazines seized from the star's bedroom at Neverland Ranch.
But trial Judge Rodney Melville denied a prosecution bid to tell the panel about thousands of erotic pictures found on computers that it says could show that Jackson used the pictures to lure children into abuse.
The jury was shown the covers of a wide array of magazines with titles ranging from "Total Teen Filth," to "Over 50," "Plumpers and Big Women" and "Barely Legal" that police found at Neverland Ranch.
Prosecutors are hoping to convince the panel that the "King of Pop," 46, who is accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy at Neverland two years ago, used racy pictures to break down the boy's sexual inhibitions.
"The relevance, as the prosecution said, is that Michael Jackson showed the material to young boys to get them interested," said legal analyst Ann Bremner outside the courtroom in the California town of Santa Maria.
But she warned that the connection between pornography and the alleged abuse was a "quantum leap for jurors."
Melville upheld a bid by Jackson's lawyers to prevent prosecutors from telling jurors about explicit images that were downloaded onto computers at Neverland mostly in 1998, but some in between September and November 2003.
"The court will grant that defense motion not to allow this material," Melville said.
Before the jury was summoned into court, prosecutor Gordon Auchincloss said one of the three computers and four hard-drives contained 1,700 downloaded pictures of "erotic material," most of it involving teenagers.
The images were "the circumstantial link that provides powerful corroboration for our witness in this case," Auchincloss said.
He said that two of the computers -- which were among 14 seized at the ranch -- had been used to download information from adoption websites.
But defense lawyer Robert Sanger retorted that the material was heterosexual and that there was no proof that Jackson had ever looked at it.
In addition, the computer porn is irrelevant to allegations that Jackson abused the young cancer survivor in February or March of 2003 as it was not downloaded or viewed during that period, he added.
"None of the four computers have any material on them that was subject to the time period of interest here," Sanger said, adding that there was nothing illegal about any of the images found on the computers.
Meanwhile, a detective told how he sealed evidence seized in a November 18, 2003 police search of Neverland as the defense sought to show that police were less than thorough about sealing and conserving the items.
Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department Detective Robert Cooley was responsible for bagging and documenting the items seized at the sprawling, fantasy-themed estate's amusement arcade.
Cooley said that while he was not specifically told the items would be dusted for fingerprints, he sealed them in a way that would allow forensic analysis to be carried out at a later stage.
Jackson's team has said that a fingerprint belonging to Jackson's accuser found on a pornographic magazine was left when the boy identified the magazine during a grand jury hearing months after he left Neverland.
Prosecutors say the fact fingerprints belonging to both Jackson and the youth were on the magazine is evidence that they looked at it together.
The hearing came after Jackson, who has been suffering what aides call "intolerable" back pain, arrived at court looking much fitter and healthier than in recent days.
Jackson, who shuffled into court late Monday then burst into tears, arrived early, wearing a dark suit, bronze vest and gold medallion, smiling and waving to fans.
03/23/2005 23:10 GMT