Police searched pop star Michael Jackson's opulent Neverland Ranch, near Santa Barbara, today after authorities issued a search warrant related to a criminal investigation.
While police did not specify the nature of the investigation, the cable channel Court TV said the search warrant stemmed from allegations of sexual abuse brought by a 12-year-old boy against the star.
A spokesman for Jackson was not immediately available for comment.
The allegations come nine years after a 14-year-old reached an out-of-court agreement to settle a lawsuit accusing the singer of molesting him in 1992. No criminal charges were ever brought in that case.