Maid Saw Jackson in Bed With Children

A former maid in Michael Jackson's house told the jury at his child molestation trial yesterday she had seen him having a shower with a young boy.

Blanca Francia, the mother of the man who testified that he had been molested by Mr Jackson more than 15 years ago, said she had seen Mr Jackson in bed with young children, including the actor Macaulay Culkin, on several occasions.

Thomas Mesereau, defending, quoted from a deposition she gave in 1993 that she had only seen Mr Jackson's shadow through the shower door.

But the prosecution produced a photograph of the shower cubicle which left little doubt that Ms Francia would have been able to see the occupants. Ms Francia, whose first language is Spanish, said that when she had said "shadow" she had meant "image".

She said she had found a pair of Mr Jackson's briefs next to a pair of green neon underpants belonging to a small boy on the floor once when tidying Mr Jackson's bedroom.

Mr Mesereau questioned Ms Francia at length about Bubbles, Mr Jackson's pet chimpanzee. His purpose remained unclear, but he established that Ms Francia had been bitten twice by the animal.

Earlier, resuming his evidence, her son Jason Francia said he had been so embarrassed by the alleged molestation that his wife learned the details only when he gave evidence on Monday.

"In fifth grade I told my friends that I knew Michael Jackson and they thought it was cool," he said. "In junior high it's no longer cool to know someone who has issues with kids."

Questioned by the prosecution, Mr Francia, who was seven, eight and 10 at the time of the three alleged incidents involving Mr Jackson, said he had hoped the situation would simply go away if he did not tell anyone about it.

Asked about the first time he was interviewed by the police about the allegations, when they were investigating accusations by a boy in 1993, Mr Francia said: "In the beginning I thought I could hold them off and make them go away. But they didn't go away."

He had not told his mother the details, even though they had reached a reported $2m out-of-court settlement with Mr Jackson in 1996.

Mr Jackson is charged with molesting a boy now 15, and with 10 counts of felony conspiracy, child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion.