US police in central California on Friday searched pop superstar Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch for the second time after the first search a year ago

Santa Barbara County police spokesman Chris Pappas confirmed that a warrant was served at the rural estate, but he did not release any information about the purpose of the search.

The search started at 9 a.m. local time (17:00 GMT) and investigators remained there into the late morning.

County police and prosecutors first searched Jackson's ranch late November last year after a doctor tipped the police that Jackson molested a Los Angeles boy during his sleepovers at the Neverland ranch.

Jackson, 46, was charged with child molestation late last year and arrested by the police. He was freed after posting a 3-million-dollar bail.

Jackson, who pleaded innocent, was indicted by a grand jury early this year for committing a lewd act upon a child, administering an intoxicating agent and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. The trial is expected to start in January next year.

At the pretrial hearings, Jackson's defense lawyers sought to throw out some evidence taken during the first search of Neverland ranch, claiming that the authorities went overboard during the search.

In September, the property manager of the ranch testified that police looking for evidence last year searched areas that were not specified in a warrant. But the judge in charge of Jackson's case later rejected the defense lawyers' claims.

Source: Xinhua