Dozens of adult-oriented books, magazines and DVDs seized at Michael Jackson Neverland ranch — one with the fingerprints of Jackson and his accuser — can be used as evidence in the singer’s upcoming trial, the judge ruled Friday.

The judge also ruled that Jackson’s accuser should testify in open court instead of in a closed courtroom with an audio hookup for the media.

At a hearing just three days before the start of jury selection, Superior Court Judge Rodney Melville permitted most of the proposed evidence to be used at trial but said the prosecution could not refer to the material as pornography, obscenity or erotic. Instead, the words “adult” or “sexually explicit” can be used, he said.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Ron Zonen said the 50 print and video items that were seized in 2003 included graphic sexual material that was heterosexual and homosexual in nature. The material also included nude photos of models who may have been 18 but looked much younger, he said.

Defense attorney Thomas Mesereau Jr. countered that all the materials seized were legally available. In the case of the magazine with the prints, he said, evidence will show Jackson took it away from his accuser and locked it up.

Zonen said investigators found the fingerprints of Jackson and his accuser on one of the magazines but gave no further details.

Melville ruled that several items could not be used as evidence, including three books seized in 1993 that allegedly show pictures of nude adolescents.

Source: Associated Press