If there had been a wide gap between the time of the alleged assault and the reporting of the incident, I may tend to agree. But once the complaint is filed, the accuser can't have the charges dropped if Kobe secretly agreed to pay her off. This isn't a shakedown civil suit. Now, maybe she did make this up and didn't realize that there was no chance at money of she filed a criminal complaint, but who knows. Personally, I don't know if he did it, and hope he didn't. But if there is physical evidence of force, I think he is sunk. These stories and "dirt" on the accuser wont matter IMO, even if they are allowed(which most wont be).
Although this is a criminal matter, she "could" reach a settlement with Kobe in return for refusing to testify against him. Without her testimony, there would likely be no trial.
The presence - if true - of some sort of pre-existing relationship with this "victim" and Kobe would indeed change a LOT. It would, as they say, open up a lot of possibilities.
Michael
Not necessarily. Remember O.J.?
Sure there is. Remember the Michael Jackson settlement? That was settled during the criminal investigation. After the settlement, in which Jackson said was "not an admission of guilt", the kid refused to testify so the case could not proceed. The prosecutor could try the case without the girl, but probably would not.