Then why did they settle for money? Why didn't they want to get him and protect other kids?
I can guarantee you that Michael or Michael's "people" no doubt made specific threats to that boy and his family as to how they intended to wipe out their credibility, destroy them professionally, and hunt them down if they pursued the charges. Testifying against any molester doesn't automatically bring emotional healing to any victim. Nor is it the responsibility of victims OR parents to heal the world, or protect every child from every monster. They were extremely brave in coming forward initially to the Santa Barbara DA, who is corrupt as the day is long, by the way. THAT act brought the truth out, so other victims would have the courage to come forward. The money? It was the only way they could know they would ever be safe from Michael's influence. My guess is it was dumped in investment accounts somewhere in the children's names for their futures.
Let's all be careful in judging motives before we know all the details (which we never will) or have walked in someone else's shoes.
1. Common sense ought to be sufficient to protect children from Jacko. How hard is it to turn down his invitation for sleepovers? 2. Sex-related cases are among the hardest to prove in courts, especially with the child as the only witness and no circumstantial evidence of molestation. There is little chance they would have been able to convict him on criminal charges (ie beyond a reasonable doubt); however, they would have likely made the much lower burden of a civil case, and thus money was all that was ever at stake. Not to mention they probably figured (correctly) that all but Jackson's stalwarts would say settlement as an admission of guilt, and that his career could really only go downhill as a result (although the crap albums he's put out lately certainly had a central role). Even if you are independently wealthy, and the money wasn't your primary motivation for the suit initially, 25 million is more than most people's dignity is worth these days, it seems.