Maid Tells of Nude Jackson, Boys : Scandal: In an interview, the woman says she saw the singer and youths naked on several occasions and quit in disgust. His lawyer confirms that Jackson has returned to California.

A former maid for Michael Jackson has told authorities that she quit her job with the entertainer after seeing him naked with young boys on a number of occasions, sources close to the Jackson investigation said Monday.

“That is true,” Blanca Francia, the former maid, told The Times on Monday. “I quit in 1991. I was disgusted. I could not stay.”

Francia is scheduled to give a deposition later this week, and she declined to discuss in detail what she saw, saying she preferred to wait until after she had spoken under oath. She confirmed, however, comments from sources who said she gave investigators a detailed description of her years with Jackson and her reasons for leaving.

Larry R. Feldman, the lawyer for a 13-year-old boy who alleges that Jackson sexually molested him, on Monday declined repeated requests for comment on Francia or on her deposition, but he has said on previous occasions that she is an “extremely significant witness.”

According to sources close to the investigation, Francia has said that she saw Jackson in a shower with a young boy and in a Jacuzzi, where he also was with a boy. In both cases, Francia said, Jackson and the boys were naked. Francia also has alleged that she once found Jackson and another boy together in a sleeping bag.

Francia said she worked for the singer for five years, quitting only because she became angered by what she saw of his contact with young boys. “It was very difficult,” she said, “very hard.”

Francia is the only person close to Jackson to publicly state that she saw the entertainer naked with boys. Police and prosecutors have questioned her at length, and sources said authorities consider her a potentially important witness in the criminal investigation of Jackson’s activities.

In court papers filed six weeks ago, Feldman listed her as one of a number of Jackson employees and former employees whom he wanted to question under oath.

Neither Howard Weitzman nor Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., Jackson’s principal attorneys, was available for comment Monday about Francia or her potential significance to the case against their client. Anthony Pellicano, Jackson’s private investigator, did not respond to a request for comment.

Francia’s remarks to The Times came as intensity mounted in related criminal and civil investigations into Jackson’s relationship with the 13-year-old boy. Jackson’s lawyers obtained a temporary gag order Monday morning that prevents lawyers from discussing the contents of depositions taken as part of the civil suit.

After the court session, one of Jackson’s lawyers confirmed that the entertainer has returned to Southern California, ending a stay in Europe where Jackson said he was seeking treatment for an addiction to painkillers.

“He is back to establish his innocence,” Cochran said during a morning news conference outside court.

Amid a swirl of rumor and unconfirmed reports, Jackson returned to California on Friday after at least one meeting between his lawyers and prosecutors. Sources said the discussion dealt in part with the conditions for Jackson’s return and his possible cooperation with authorities. Among other things, police want to examine Jackson’s body to see if what they observe matches a physical description provided by the boy.

When Jackson halted his world tour on Nov. 12, his lawyers said he would be in drug treatment for six to eight weeks. Although Cochran said Jackson still is receiving treatment, his quick return prompted Feldman to question whether the alleged drug addiction was the real reason Jackson was forced to drop out of sight.

“What I’m surprised about is that Jackson made such a speedy recovery,” Feldman said. “It was supposed to be eight weeks, and as soon as there is an agreement with the D.A.’s office, he’s back.”

As he considered the request for a gag order, Superior Court Judge David Rothman met in closed chambers with Feldman, Jackson’s lawyers, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lauren Weis, who is in charge of the criminal investigation against Jackson, and several media lawyers. Rothman decided to postpone the hearing until Friday at 8 a.m. to give those opposed to the order time to prepare legal briefs.

Meanwhile, however, Rothman imposed a temporary gag order on both sides, barring them from discussing information gleaned during the discovery process in the civil case.

“We have to protect Michael Jackson’s rights to a fair trial,” Cochran said. “This case cannot be tried through press conferences.”

Cochran said he and Weitzman sought the gag order in part because they were concerned that prosecutors would use evidence from the civil case to indict Jackson on criminal charges.

“The (district attorney’s) office has all the power and all the investigators,” Cochran said. “They can talk to witnesses themselves. Why should they piggy-back on depositions in this case?”

The temporary gag order will keep lawyers in the case from disclosing what Francia says when she is deposed Wednesday. In fact, they will not even be able to tell police and prosecutors. But the effect of that part of the ban is hard to discern, since authorities already have talked Francia.

Francia’s importance to the case is further complicated by the fact that she also has spoken to “Hard Copy,” a tabloid television program that routinely pays for interviews. News that her interview would soon air on the show sent prosecutors into a frenzy of activity over the weekend.

One source close to the criminal investigation said authorities were panicked that Francia’s statement to police might be compromised by her appearance on the program, particularly if it came out that she received money for her interview.

Francia declined to comment Monday on whether she was paid for her “Hard Copy” interview. That interview is scheduled to air Wednesday, and in promoting it Monday, the show featured a clip in which Francia said she had seen Jackson in a bathtub with a young boy.

Accepting money for interviews can compromise the integrity of potential witnesses by raising the possibility that they have altered their stories in order to market their information. The tabloid press has aggressively bought information about the Jackson story, and because of that, investigators repeatedly have been forced to grapple with the threat of having witnesses tainted by taking money for publicly airing their views on Jackson.

“On one hand, one could argue that the prospect of being paid might draw someone out. That might be an arguable benefit,” said Peter Arenella, a UCLA law professor. “But you have to balance that against the incredibly problematic nature of how valuable these people might be as trial witnesses once they have sold their stories.”

In Francia’s case, however, that possibility might be dampened by the fact that she spoke to police and prosecutors before she was contacted by the tabloid press, legal experts said.

For her part, Francia said the experience has been trying. She said she is looking forward to giving her deposition and finally being able to tell her story under oath.

“I have so many things in my head right now,” Francia said Monday. “I would like to talk more now, but I can’t.”