I was a teenager in the 80's and a young adult in the 90's. It was well known that Jackson dated little boys. We talked about it a lot at the time. He groomed them and their families with expensive gifts and extravagant trips. He cuddled with them and held their hands like lovers on dates to premiers, dinners, etc. We all saw it.
Jackson admitted to sleeping in the same bed with these unrelated, prepubescent boys. He had a secret bedroom chamber that was rigged with alarms. Cameras lined the hall leading to it so he could see and know if anyone approached while he innocently shared cookies and milk with his little boys.
When his home was raided, this innocent Peter Pan had a perfectly legal but ironic "art" book filled with naked boys.
Jackson doted on his boys while he dated them but dumped them unceremoniously for younger models the minute they hit puberty.
It was like the Emperor Had No Clothes: Society wouldn't admit it. Us younger people, however, saw clearly what was happening and discussed it openly - that this man was a pedophile.
The problem is he was so talented, so rich and so famous. So society came up with bizarre and illogical excuses for his clearly pedophilic behavior.
Of course at a certain point with lawsuits and criminal charges, it became too much. So he decided to obtain his own little boys. He didn't date others after that.
I believe he escaped legal justice due to the fear and shame of his victims, the greed and questionable characters of their parents, and the blind adulation of people who worship fame and fortune.
But he couldn't hide himself from himself. Jackson essentially died from not being able to sleep. I believe the reality of what he was and what he did, ate at his soul.