Sky, I have held off on saying this but now I feel it's needed.
Have you ever been molested? I don't think you have been, thank God. I find it astonishing that many of the parents, if not all, were more willing to settle out of court and only when the DA stepped in was there an attempt to prosecute. IF it really happened, the parents would be exceptionally cruel to try to settle out of court. It doesn't matter how much money one gets, the memory of the perp getting away with it is far worse than the act itself. The act itself happened, no one can change that and more often than not no one could stop it. But when they get away with it, Sky, no amount of money can fix that damage.
When you lose a privacy you could never imagine anyone taking from you, it's horrid beyond description. And if it had happened with MJ, the DA would have every right and reason to go after the parents for negotiating payment. Payment? What the hell for? "Counseling"? What good is that when there is no counseling that can help how you feel after a perp gets away with it. And had the parents been successful (some were, sadly) in negotiating settlement, that is exactly what the perp gets. Away with it, all for a dollar. Well, dollar amount. Money, nevertheless, money that has no true value, that has no meaning, compared to the pain and memory that the perp got away with it.
Those kids were not molested by MJ. No I did not meet them, but seeing that their parents wanted money tells the whole story. And if it did happen and if the parents accepted money instead of prosecuting, then AFAIC they are no better than the perpetraitor him/herself.
I vaguely remember what I went through. And no one, but those that have been there where I was, can imagine in their worst nightmares what it's like. And I pray to God you and your children never do.
Skye, when I was molested as a little kid, it was a woman that did it. And she got away with it. THE primary reason why I hate women. And from my experience I can tell you the behavoir exhibited by the parents shows the lies too well.