Now... can you see how it could happen?

Many MJ haters have declared that his settlement was his admission. They always lament that no innocent man would give up and settle. And while many MJ supporters are quick to bring up J.C. Penney, the previous entity the Arvisos attempted to milk, there are many other non-MJ related cases when an innocent does the unthinkable and give up.

Kevin Fox was one such innocent.

First of all, I have to thank what(who)ever for waking me up at 3am to see this story. Sure, it was on ABC World News Now, a program that I loathe; however, the anchors, Vinita Nair and Jeremy Hubbard, didn't do the legwork, therefore the segment about Riley Fox was compelling and, dare I say, accurate. The segment, taken from Nightline, detailed the case of Riley Fox, a missing 3 year old, who was later found raped, bound, and drowned in a local creek.

The story detailed how the local police zeroed in on Riley's father, Kevin Fox, since there was no evidence of forced entry and the delay in contacting 911 about the little girl's disappearance. On that basis, the cops proceeded to interrogate Kevin, without legal counsel present, for 14 hours, showing him graphic pictures of his murdered child. After the relentless pressure, Kevin confessed; the local authorities told the FBI to not conduct DNA tests using Kevin's samples. So, the cops had their man and to them, their case was closed; however, Kevin's attorney, Kathleen Zellner took the initiative and had Kevin's samples tested independent of the authorities, an action that resulted in Kevin being excluded as a suspect in Riley's death. This happened in 2005.

Fast forward to 2010 - the local authorities received a tip regarding an incarcerated sex offender, Scott Eby. The local authorities paid Eby a prison visit, took a sample - 24 hours later, his DNA was determined to be a match to the DNA found on Riley, resulting in an immediate confession.

Noticably, many bloggers and TV anchors are asking how could an innocent person confess to a crime? And apparently, the local authorities now want to talk to Kevin Fox and ask him how that could happen, an action that should've happened as soon as he was released from jail. An action that could've begun the process of examining their local law enforcement interrogation techniques. But personally, I think that this pompous, grandiose attempt to 'get answers' is wholly unnecessary. I feel that this goes along with the concept that the greedy can't accurately gauge generosity. The cynical or pessimists of the world can't gauge innocence either. Especially if the innocent is perceived as being 'too' innocent. And sadly, the innocent can be naive enough to think that the helpers of the world can see them clearly. They really can't - their lens is cloudy.

Now, if a father can admit to raping, bounding, and drowning his little daughter just based on 14 hours of interrogation and implications that he would be repeatedly raped in prison if he didn't take the authorities' deal, shouldn't considerations be taken in MJ's 1993 case? After all, MJ was strip searched and photographed, interrogated by authorities who weren't above taking their case to the press via 'leaks' over a longer period of time. And while the settlement was designed to prevent the family from continuing to 'leak' things to the press, it didn't prevent them from participating in the investigations and litigation of the case; however, the evidence didn't yield anything that could result in a successful prosecution. Michael Jackson's financial status was pretty stable before the allegations when Evan Chandler tried to get money for his (cow)pie in the sky screenplays; Michael's financial status was as strong after the accusation, but he allowed his insurance company to cut the check. What was the difference between the initial inquiry and the payment from the insurance company?

PRESSURE!!!!!!!!!!!

And given that he wasn't just getting it from law enforcement, but from many different directions in the press, can anyone blame him for making the pressure stop?

And BTW... the FBI. Apparently, the FBI allowed the local authorities to dictate their level of involvement in the investigation in the Illinois case. Apparently, this was the case with the Santa Barbara investigation. Whereas the Illinois wanted the minimum amount of participation in the Fox investigation, a decision that was detrimental to the Fox family and the greater community, Santa Barbara wanted the FBI to hit MJ with all that they got. The result? No evidence of kiddie porn on MJ's numerous computers and the ruling out of numerous dubious witnesses who courted the press in the past with contradictory pantload stories.

So how can anyone congratulate the FBI on great detective work on the Fox case and yet, unilaterally dismiss their decidedly more thorough work in the MJ molestation case? Actually, this is directed specifically at Diane Dimond, the b*tch who accused the FBI of whitewashing the MJ investigations just because their findings didn't support the pantload she and her ilk spewed for nearly 20 years?

Needless to say, I hope that the Kevin Fox debacle is an isolated incident, but I truly doubt that it is. Hell, Hollywood is fond of purchasing film rights to stories like this, and yet, they sat on their hands as this particular drama befell Michael in 1993 and 2005. And they still remain pretty tight-lipped about this. Mind you, Kevin Fox didn't carry the baggage of being a Black, effeminate, enigmatic superstar who continually put fellow performers to shame, whether it was onstage, in development/brainstorming meeting, or giving away millions upon millions of dollars without blinking an eye.

Kevin Fox was just a young White father watching his kids while his wife was away. Just a citizen of a small town that easily believed the local law enforcement instead of looking at Kevin and his circumstances. It's easy to play armchair quarterback regarding how one would react to being falsely accused of a crime, especially when one thinks that they are living a life in which such questions or allegations would never be lodged.

I'm willing to bet that Kevin and his family thought the same thing - once upon a time.