A 14-year-old boy told jurors in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial last night that he twice saw the pop star masturbating himself and groping his sleeping brother.
The boy, whose now 15-year-old brother made the main accusations against Jackson, said he witnessed the scene on two nights in February or March of 2003, while climbing stairs to the superstar's Neverland Valley Ranch bedroom.
He said that on both occasions Jackson and his brother were lying on the 46-year-old performer's bed and his brother, then 13, was asleep.
Jackson was not aware that he was on the stairs and peering through a railing, the boy testified.
"Michael's left hand was in my brother's pants and his right hand was in his (own) pants," the boy said in describing the first night. "He was masturbating. He was rubbing himself."
The boy, who was 12 at the time, said he watched for only a few seconds before leaving to spend the night with his sister in a Neverland guest cottage.
On most nights, he said, he and his brother both slept in Jackson's room.
The testimony could prove crucial to Santa Barbara County prosecutors as corroboration of the accusations against Jackson.
The singer is also accused of giving the boy wine in order to abuse him and conspiring to commit false imprisonment, extortion and child abduction.
Jackson, who has pleaded innocent, faces more than 20 years in prison if convicted on all counts.