DOCUMENT: Celebrity, Crime

The Telltale "Splotch"

Photos of Michael Jackson's body confirmed '93 claims

JANUARY 6--As search warrants go, you won't find one more intrusive than the one executed on Michael Jackson's, um, person in 1993. And the results of that intimate Kodak moment from a decade ago could resurface in the performer's upcoming molestation trial.

A detailed recounting of the criminal probe of Jackson is contained in sealed documents reviewed by TSG. An affidavit from former Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department deputy Deborah Linden was filed in 1993 to secure court permission to photograph Jackson's private parts. Investigators sought the images in a bid to corroborate allegations made by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. The boy told police that Jackson frequently masturbated him, adding that he could provide a detailed description of the star's penis as a way of proving the pair had been intimate.

According to the Linden affidavit, Chandler told police that Jackson justified the illicit acts by saying, "it was okay and natural because other friends had done this" with him. The singer, then in his mid-30s, also allegedly told the boy that, "masturbation is a wonderful thing." The celebrity also told Chandler that if he ever spoke about the incidents, he would be "placed in Juvenile Hall," and they both would get in trouble.

The document also describes a confrontation between Jackson and Chandler's father Evan, who suspected that the performer may have been assaulting his son during sleepovers. The elder Chandler tracked Jackson down to his "hideaway apartment" in Los Angeles.

The boy's father asked Jackson, "Are you fucking my kid?"

The entertainer "became very upset" and told Chandler that he did not use that word. Linden notes that the singer did not answer the question or deny the allegation.

With Los Angeles Police Department detectives weighing his claims, Chandler gave them a roadmap to Jackson's below-the-waist geography, which, he said, includes distinctive "splotches" on his buttocks and one on his penis, "which is a light color similar to the color of his face." The boy's information was so precise, he even pinpointed where the splotch fell while Jackson's penis was erect, the length of the performer's pubic hair, and that he was circumcised.

It wasn't long after law enforcement's photo session that Jackson agreed to settle Chandler's civil claim for north of $20 million.

In a recent sealed affidavit, Tom Sneddon is quoted as saying that Chandler's pre-search description (and a drawing) "corroborated" photos taken of Jackson and observations made by officers who examined the body of evidence.

In light of Sneddon's proclivity for hardball tactics, perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise if he tries to have those old images finally admitted into evidence. We're pretty sure Jackson would oppose that, though he did tell Chandler years ago that he was "proud of his coloration" and thought he "looked like Pan."