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Photos, underwear seized in Jackson case

Items were taken in March from pop singer's wardrobe


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Michael Jackson waves to fans at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse on Friday.
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Underwear believed to have been worn by Michael Jackson is among items turned over to prosecutors in his child-molestation case.
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(CNN) -- Underwear believed to have been worn by Michael Jackson and photographs of him with young boys have been seized by authorities investigating child molestation charges against the pop star, Monmouth County, New Jersey, officials confirmed Monday.

The Monmouth officials said the items were taken in March by Santa Barbara County, California, authorities as part of their investigation in the molestation case against Jackson.

The items were found in a wardrobe box with Jackson's name on it, according to Henry Vaccaro Sr., who once owned that box and hundreds of other items of Jackson family memorabilia.

He has since sold the collection, which was stored in a warehouse in Asbury Park, New Jersey, after being shipped from California.

CNN cannot independently verify who owned any of the items.

Monmouth County assistant prosecutor Bob Honecker told CNN his office was contacted about the items by Santa Barbara County authorities March 5. Those officials arrived in New Jersey on March 17, he said.

Vaccaro said -- and New Jersey officials confirmed -- the items taken included what Vaccaro called a "pair of soiled, white Calvin Klein size 28 underpants," two photographs of Jackson with young boys, and a note believed to have been written by Jackson that refers to kids who stayed at his Neverland ranch as "rubbers."

Also seized was a letter reportedly from Jackson to his brother Tito's late wife, Dee Dee, warning about child molesters, a Neverland ranch welcome kit and a Neverland "Do Not Disturb" sign, Vaccaro said.

Attorneys for Jackson did not return CNN calls for comment, and authorities in Santa Barbara had no comment when asked about the items.

Jackson, 45, pleaded not guilty Friday to four counts of having "substantial sexual conduct with a child under the age of 14;" one count of conspiracy to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion; four counts of administering an "intoxicating agent to a minor in order to facilitate child molestation;" and one count of attempted molestation. (Full story)

The charges were filed in December, nearly a month after authorities raided Jackson's Neverland ranch, his 3,000-acre estate in Santa Barbara County, northwest of Los Angeles. He has been free on $3 million bond since his formal arrest in November.

In an interview with CNN on March 4, Vaccaro said he had sold the collection of Jackson family memorabilia -- which he claimed was the largest in the world -- to a European collector. (Full story)

The collection included costumes, gold records, photographs, letters and documents, he said.

Vaccaro claimed the Jackson family had been collecting the memorabilia for years to decorate a chain of Jackson-themed restaurants, a venture that never materialized.

Vaccaro said the collection was seized by a court in 1999 as part of a legal battle against the Jacksons. A company he owned bought many of the items in 2002 and then sold them to the collector, he said.


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