OhioCowboy said: The details just don't add up, and it seems that people knew they could make a quick buck off Michael. If the majority of people thought he was guilty, I doubt his fame would have lasted as long as it did, and will continue to do so even after his death.
Um, Michael's fame quickly deteriorated after the first allegations and his paying the settlement with a gag order sounds vaguely familiar. Now let me see...who else do we know who did that?? Oh yes, it was the WTB&TS who admitted no wrongdoing, but paid their accusers millions of dollars complete with a gag order. I agree that there are always people who are trying to make a buck off the rich and famous, but Michael was his own worst enemy as he should have NEVER been having these sleepovers in the first place.
Child abuse is so bad that once there is even a hint that a person may have done something innapropriate, a witch hunt, lynch mob, or whatever you want to call it forms, and automatically decides that the person is guilty, even when there is evidence showing otherwise.
Unfortunately, the evidence in this case seems to point to the fact that there WAS indeed, something going on. As someone else related on here, there are certain warning signs of a potential pedophile, just as there are warning signs for a cult. The stupidest thing Michael did was continue on with his bizarre behaviour after the first payout. That was completely insane and it was obvious it was going to happen again. He should have never been alone with a young boy ever again after the first allegations. Unfortunately, because there was apparently no one to stand up to him and say "knock it off", he must have thought he was untouchable (no pun intended).
A lot of normal, non abusing people nowadays make it a point to not be around children, and even go out of their way to avoid being near them, lest they be labelled as abusers. All it takes is for one child to get mad at a person and say that person acted innapropriately, and their life is totally ruined by an accusation.
You're absolutely right. I know a guy who went to prison because his 15 year old daughter told Social Services that he molested her. When she retracted her story a year later, she was asked why she made the allegations. Her reason? Her father grounded her for coming in at midnight when her curfew was 9:00pm. Even though her father was released from prison and given a full pardon, that will stay with him for the rest of his life.
For those of you who do not thing that Michael was guilty of anything, would you truly let your children or grandchildren have sleep overs at his house, knowing that they'd be sleeping in his bed with absolutely no other adults around?