Quote:
Originally Posted by Wormius
I just don’t understand how you can commit a crime and be allowed to pay the person off. Like if someone committed murder here, you wouldn’t be able to give the victim’s family a wad of cash to stave off charges.
Paging MBates!
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Late to the party but this was always a civil lawsuit. There was never any chance of Andrew ending up in prison as a direct result of the trial. Criminally, had it been pursued at all, he had already passed the statute of limitation for the alleged crimes (which Canada thankfully does not have).
It was because of the New York
Child Victims Act that extended the civil timeframe that gave her the opportunity to pursue the trial. Further the requirements of civil litigation are much less onerous, the 50%+1 idea where the juror or judge only needs to be convinced on a balance of more likely than not, unlike criminally where it's beyond a reasonable doubt.
And this happens with murder too. OJ Simpson being the most notable. Found not guilty criminally but lost civilly.