Pop superstar Michael Jackson sexually exploited a teenage cancer patient at his Neverland ranch with pornography and talk of masturbation "instead of bedtime books and discussions of Peter Pan," a prosecutor said today.
Making his opening statement in Jackson's child molestation trial, Santa Barbara County District Attorney Tom Sneddon said the singer invited the 13-year-old boy to his Neverland Valley Ranch then manipulated him "through exposure to strange sexual behavior".
"The private world of Michael Jackson, instead of bedtime books and discussions of Peter Pan ... he's talking to them about masturbation," Mr Sneddon told the jury.
Jackson, 46, is charged with molesting the boy, who had been told by his doctors he was dying, at the singer's Neverland Valley Ranch in the foothills of the central California coast above Santa Maria.
He is also accused of plying the boy with wine disguised in soda cans in order to seduce him, and conspiring to commit child abduction, extortion and false imprisonment.
Jackson has pleaded innocent.
If convicted of all 10 charges, he faces nearly 20 years in jail.
Defense lawyers are expected to tell jurors that Jackson was framed by the money-hungry mother of his young accuser.
Jackson arrived for opening statements wearing a dark suit with a red armband and flanked by his mother and brother Jermaine.
The trial will offer a rare glimpse into Jackson's bizarre lifestyle and his lawyers have promised to call as witnesses some of the most famous people in America, including basketball star Kobe Bryant, "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno and actress Elizabeth Taylor.