Yes, and the media tried to convince the public that Michael paid off the “victims” because he didn’t want to be “found guilty”. The other celebrities, who were guilty, did the same thing, too, but they were eventually convicted anyway because they actually abused others, whereas Michael did not.
If the police/ FBI can locate missing people found in other countries and criminals on the run, they could easily find evidence that says that someone had abused others - in Michael's case, they did not find any evidence - simple as that.