| When the boy accused Michael of molestation, California authorities
began a criminal investigation into the case. This thorough investigation
lasted for over a year and in the end, the authorities concluded that
there was not enough evidence to file ANY criminal charges against
Michael, which means that the State of California did not prosecute
Michael and ended the case.
However, while the investigation was taking place, shortly after the
California authorities began their investigation into the case, the boy's
family decided not to wait for the authorities to find truth and filed a
civil lawsuit against Michael. A CIVIL lawsuit can be filed by anyone
against anyone, and is completely separate from any criminal
lawsuit/trial. Civil suits generally focus on monetary penalties, and in
the civil case of the boy against Michael, the boy's side was seeking
millions of dollars from Michael. While the amount of money sought were
not disclosed, the boy's lawyer did ask to review all of Michael's
finaces.
The CIVIL suit ended with an out-of-court settlement in January 1994,
but the criminal investigation continued for 8 more months, until
September 1994, when it concluded WITHOUT any charges being leveled
against Michael. |
