HOLLYWOOD - Michael Jackson's sprawling Neverland Ranch, located near Santa Barbara, was searched early Tuesday after authorities obtained a search warrant related to an ongoing criminal investigation, a police spokesman told Reuters.While police would not comment on the nature of the investigation, Reuters reports the cable channel Court TV said the warrant stemmed from allegations of sexual abuse brought by a 12-year-old boy against the self-proclaimed King of Pop.
The allegations come nine years after a 14-year-old boy made an out-of-court agreement with Jackson, stemming from a lawsuit that claimed the singer molested the boy in 1992. No criminal charges were ever brought in that case.
This is only the latest in a string of troubles for Jackson in the last year or so. Last November the pop oddity shocked the world when video cameras caught him dangling his baby over a hotel balcony before a crowd in Berlin. Then in February, Jackson caused a stir by admitting on a TV special that he shared his bedroom with young boys.
A spokesman for Jackson was not immediately available for comment and Jackson's whereabouts were not clear, Reuters reports.