Fingerprints matching those of Michael Jackson and his young accuser were found together on a single pornographic magazine seized from the entertainer's estate, a police
forensics expert told jurors on Friday in Jackson's child molestation trial.
There were 19 latent fingerprints found on the pages of magazines including Penthouse and Barely Legal matching those of Jackson, 46, his then 13-year-old accuser or the
boy's younger brother, retired Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Sgt. Robert Spinner said.
Jackson's left thumb print and three fingerprints from his accuser were found on a copy of Hustler Barely Legal Hardcore, the only magazine to show prints from both of them
together, Spinner told jurors.
Spinner was the sixth prosecution witness to take the stand on Friday as prosecutors sought to corroborate what Jackson's 15-year-old accuser, a recovered cancer patient,
had already told jurors.
Earlier this month, the boy said Jackson showed him and his younger brother adult magazines in Jackson's bedroom and later masturbated him on at least two occasions
after nights of heavy drinking.
Friday's witnesses -- including four other sheriff's employees -- discussed the procedures police used to process fingerprint evidence in the case, the second straight day
that the trial has bogged down with highly technical testimony that sometimes appeared to bore jurors and even the judge.
The next key arguments in the trial are expected to come on Monday, when Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville is set to rule on whether jurors will
hear about the well-publicized 1993 accusations of molestation made against Jackson by another 13-year-old boy.
That case was settled out of court for a reported $23 million and Jackson never faced criminal charges.
Tuesday, March 29, 2005 15:35 IST