The Michael Jackson trial entered a potentially critical phase yesterday as prosecutors prepared to introduce evidence of past allegations of child sexual molestation involving the 46-year-old singer.

About 50 fans, more than the usual number, dressed in white and holding a candlelit vigil, gathered outside the court to await the singer's arrival yesterday. On Sunday, a rally attended by about 200 fans heard a call from the singer, who told them over a speakerphone: "God and the truth are on our side. We will be victorious."

Mr Jackson spoke to fans from his Neverland ranch, telling them he wanted to be with them at Santa Maria's Radisson Hotel, where they took over a ballroom for the gathering.

"You understand I can't be there today," AP reported him as saying. "I wish I could ... I know you've travelled from around the world and I'm glad you came."

His first words to the crowd were: "I love you." The crowd responded: "We love you."

Mr Jackson, whose comments were limited because he is under a court gagging order, told the group: "I truly believe I have the most wonderful fans in the world. I'm looking forward to being with you very soon. Keep on dancing. I love you all very much."

In early evidence yesterday, the court heard from Jesús Salas, a former house manager at the Neverland ranch, who testified that he often saw Mr Jackson drunk. "It was pretty much on a regular basis," he told the deputy district attorney, Gordon Auchincloss.

An attempt by the prosecution to confirm that Mr Jackson had served wine to the young boys in his bedroom was undermined when Mr Salas said that although he had delivered a bottle of wine to Mr Jackson's bedroom when he was alone there with young boys, he had also brought soft drinks for the children.

But he did testify that he had seen other children emerging drunk from Mr Jackson's wine cellar at 8am accompanied by the singer.

In a further attempt to show that Mr Jackson eroded the boundaries of decency around children, the court was shown photographs of erotic figurines the singer kept in his office.

The nine witnesses expected to be called by prosecutors will give evidence about five alleged instances of inappropriate sexual behaviour by Mr Jackson. They include the son of a former maid at the ranch, who reached an out-of-court settlement with Mr Jackson for $2m (£1.06m) in 1993. The man, now in his 20s, is the only alleged victim expected to testify for the prosecution.

Two alleged victims of previous instances of child molestation by Jackson are expected to testify for the defence. They include the actor Macaulay Culkin, who became friends with Mr Jackson when he was a child star.

Although prosecutors hope to introduce witnesses who will claim that they saw evidence of Mr Jackson molesting Culkin, he told an interviewer last year that there had been nothing inappropriate about the relationship and that no sexual contact took place.

The nine witnesses also include the mother of the alleged victim in another 1993 allegation, which Mr Jackson settled out of court for a reported $23m. That case was conducted by the district attorney prosecuting the singer in the current case. The settlement was reached before the case came to court. The alleged victim has refused to testify.

Other witnesses include former Neverland employees who are expected to allege that they saw Mr Jackson cuddling and kissing boys at his home. They are also expected to say that on several occasions they saw Mr Jackson sharing his bed with children with underwear strewn alongside the bed.

Under Californian law, previous allegations can be introduced to show that a defendant is a habitual sex offender, regardless of whether allegations went to court. The prosecution in this trial has built much of its case on the notion that Mr Jackson is a habitual predatory paedophile.

The introduction of previous allegations presents risks for both prosecution and defence. If the jury is told that Mr Jackson has "groomed" other children besides the current accuser - encouraging them to refer to him as "Daddy", removing constraints on their behaviour, introducing them to alcohol and removing taboos concerning sexuality - it could help them to arrive at the conclusion that the singer is guilty in the present case.

But the defence could also benefit from inconsistencies in the witnesses testimony, as many of the alleged incidents took place 15 years ago, and the suggestion that they were motivated by financial gain.

The trial continues.

Brando offered tropical haven

Marlon Brando granted Michael Jackson lifelong sanctuary on a tropical island, it emerged yesterday.

A year before he died, in June 2003, the former movie legend transferred the use of half an acre of land on his private Pacific island, Tetiaroa, to the embattled singer "in consideration of gratitude and affection," according to deeds.

The move was made as pressure mounted on prosecutors to investigate alleged child molestation.

Brando wrote to the pop star to thank him for hosting a birthday party for his daughter Nina, now 15.

But Mr Jackson may have a long wait before he takes advantage of the offer. Judge Rodney Melville at Santa Maria court, California, has imposed £1.6m ($3m) bail and ordered the singer to surrender his passport during his trial.

Press Association

Jackson abused me and gave me money to keep silent, witness says

The Michael Jackson child molestation case took a potentially devastating turn for the singer yesterday when the jury heard from a young man who claims that Mr Jackson sexually molested him on three occasions over 16 years ago. The 46-year-old singer, he alleged, "put [money] down my pants" after each incident.

Jason Francia, now 24, said that, when he was 10, he and Jackson were lying on a couch at the singer's Neverland ranch tickling each other. "I was wearing shorts," he said, his voice breaking. "He reached on my leg and he reached up and into my privates." He said that Jackson continued touching his testicles for several minutes.

In a day of tense and often emotional testimony, Mr Francia described how his mother worked as the singer's maid.

Asked by prosecution attorney Ron Zonen if Mr Jackson had ever done anything to make him feel uncomfortable, Mr Francia said: "I may not have felt uncomfortable at seven years old but when I think of it now I think that's wrong, that shouldn't have been done."

The first two instances of alleged abuse occurred at an apartment Mr Jackson kept in Los Angeles, which the boy nicknamed The Hideaway. "I was sitting on his lap watching TV," he said, "and he just started tickling me. I tickled him back and then we went to the floor, tickling still. And it eventually moved down to my 'little private region', around my crotch area."

The second alleged incident happened about a year later when the boy was eight and a half.

"We were watching TV, lying down on a sleeping bag and Michael was pretty much behind me. Again with the tickling but this time it was longer but I wasn't laughing as much."

Describing the position the two took on the floor as "spooning", Mr Francia continued, "I was in front. He was tickling me at first [then] around my genital area."

Asked if he was aware that something untoward had taken place, Mr Francia replied: "yes and no. No because it's all fun and supposed to be innocent and you're having fun and you're a little kid. And yes because it's not right."

While the first two instances alleged by Mr Francia involved touching through clothing, the third instance, he said, included skin-on-skin contact.

"Every time I was being tickled there was some sort of exchange of money," Mr Francia said. "There was a sort of 'don't tell your mum' " understanding, he said.

A smartly dressed, fresh-faced man who works as car parts salesman and youth mentor, Mr Francia bears a striking resemblance to the 15-year-old accuser in the current case. He clearly found testifying about his experiences difficult. On several occasions he stopped talking and at one point he started to cry. While describing the allegations, he looked at the floor, a contrast to his demeanour at other times when he appeared confident.

"It's taken a lot of counselling just to tell you," he told the prosecution lawyer. "At first I didn't want to discuss it because it's embarrassing. It's embarrassing now and I'm 24 years old." He revealed that he underwent counselling for five years after disclosing the allegations to detectives investigating child abuse charges against Mr Jackson in 1993.

Under cross-examination Mr Francia was asked if he had ever received money from Mr Jackson. His mother reached an out of court settlement with the singer for a reported $2m in 1993.

"Other than the money he put down my pants?" Mr Francia responded.

He also rebutted suggestions from Mr Jackson's lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, that he had been pressured by police to make the allegation that Mr Jackson molested him. "I didn't want to be embarrassed at school," he said. "I didn't want to be embarrassed anywhere. I was 13. The police were saying, if he did something then tell us, and I was like, no, I'm not gay."

The statements from Mr Francia are the first to be admitted to the case under a 1995 Californian law which permits old allegations to be heard in cases involving child sexual abuse to prove that a defendant is a habitual sex offender, regardless of whether the allegations went to court. The prosecution has built much of its case on the notion that Mr Jackson is a habitual, predatory paedophile.

Nine witnesses are expected to be called, covering five separate allegations of child molestation against the singer. Mr Francia is the only alleged victim expected to testify for the prosecution, although two, including the actor Macaulay Culkin, are expected to appear for the defence, saying Mr Jackson did not molest them.

The singer is charged with molesting a now boy now aged 15 and faces 10 charges that include felony conspiracy with 28 overt acts involving child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. If convicted he faces up to 20 years in prison.

Dan Glaister in Santa Maria