US: Pop star Michael Jackson was last night charged with child sex abuse after allegations that he molested a teenage cancer sufferer at his Neverland ranch.
Santa Barbara District Attorney Mr Tom Sneddon said Jackson faced nine charges.
He is accused of seven accounts of child molestation and two counts of administering an intoxicating liquor to a child for the purpose of committing a felony. Mr Sneddon said the singer also faced "several special allegations".
The charges accuse Jackson of having "substantial sexual conduct" with the boy, who is identified in court papers only as "John Doe," and with giving him an "intoxicating agent" in order to molest him.
Five of the counts relate to the period between February 7th and March 10th this year, and the other four to between February 20th and March 10th.
Jackson is due to appear before a court in California on January 16th, Mr Sneddon said.
After his arrest last month, the one-time King of Pop called the accusations a "big lie".
Jackson's Neverland ranch was searched in November after a complaint by a 14-year-old that he had been molested by the star.
Jackson surrendered to police on November 20th and was led into a Santa Barbara sheriff's office, before having his mug shot taken.
Mr Sneddon said all parties involved in the case had signed stipulations allowing Jackson to travel to England to promote his new album, Number Ones. He added that the pop superstar could travel to the UK only.
Speaking about Jackson, Mr Sneddon said: "We were informed by his representative that he had two contractual agreements that predated the arrest warrant and there would be a substantial financial detriment to him if he did not make these commitments that tie into his new CD. "The Sheriff and I talked about it and we agreed with counsel for the defence and the court . . . his passport could be returned this time only, for the date to the \ 20th through [to January\] 5th."