Police searched pop star Michael Jackson’s California ranch today after a 12-year-old Los Angeles boy reportedly brought allegations against him.
Sixty to 70 law-enforcement personnel swarmed the grounds, and at least one ambulance was present on the entertainer’s ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara, Fox News reported.
A statement from Sgt. Chris Pappas of the Santa Barbara County sheriff’s department says investigators from the sheriff’s and district attorney’s offices served a search warrant about 8:30 a.m. as part of an “ongoing criminal investigation.”
Fox News’ Harvey Levin reported the district attorney himself is on the scene.
Jackson’s publicist, Stuart Backerman, told Fox News the singer is in Las Vegas shooting a music video. Backerman was expected to go to the estate today and make a statement this afternoon.
No arrest warrant has been issued.
The property has a mansion, its own zoo and amusement park with bumper cars, a merry-go-round and Ferris wheel.
 Michael Jackson (file photo) |
Said Jackson in a statement: “I’ve seen lawyers who don’t represent me and spokespeople who do not know me speaking for me. These characters always seem to surface with dreadful allegations just as another project, an album, a video is being released.”
According to the Associated Press, Epic Records today released “Number Ones,” a greatest hits collection featuring Jackson’s new single, “One More Chance.”
Jackson’s career began to nosedive after allegations ten years ago he molested a boy. The singer paid a multimillion-dollar settlement in that case.
Earlier this year, WorldNetDaily reported the graphic details of the sexual relationship the boy says he and Jackson shared.
As WorldNetDaily reported, Jackson admitted in a February television documentary that he loves to have young boys sleep in his bed.
Although he claimed only “very few” boys had actually stayed in his bed, Jackson strongly defended the practice, saying: “Why can’t you share your bed? The most loving thing to do, is to share your bed with someone.”
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