Authorities familiar with the matter are dismissing a report earlier this week by Radar Online alleging that the late pop star Michael Jackson had a cache of child pornography at his Neverland Ranch when police raided the compound in November 2003.
While “law enforcement did discover adult pornographic magazines and videos” there was nothing found “constituting child pornography,” People magazine reported on Wednesday.
“There were all kinds of conventional porn magazines,” former Jackson prosecutor Ron Zonen said. “Things like Playboy, Penthouse. There was one called Barely Legal. It was a publication that featured young women presumably over the age of 18 but selected because they look much younger.”
Mr. Jackson did possess “photos of nude children but they weren’t sexually graphic,” Mr. Zonen, a former Santa Barbara assistant DA, said. “They weren’t children engaged in sexual activity, and there was no child pornography. There were no videos involving children. There were videos that were seized, but they were conventional adult sexually graphic material. No children involved.”
In June 2005, a jury found Mr. Jackson “not guilty of four charges of child molesting, one charge of attempted child molesting, one conspiracy charge and eight possible counts of providing alcohol to minors,” People magazine said.
The pop star died at his ranch of a propofol overdose seven years ago this Saturday.
• Ken Shepherd can be reached at kshepherd@washingtontimes.com.
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