Errrrybody got a past", "He never do that to me", "He sorry", "It was just a one off".
You know, Amy's excuse making talent is wasted. She could be the next Johnny Cochran.
She's so delusional about this guy's past. He abused her as a child. He pummeled his WIFE (not divorced from her yet). Anyone with half a brain knows that that's never a one-off. He may have only been caught and reported once but domestic violence, especially where she lives, is sort of accepted and downplayed.
A thirteen year old diddling an eight year old is, in some cultures, like rural Appalachia, not a rare occurrence. There are cultural differences here that are alien to much of society, and when you add in the family ties between the two groups, it is not unheard of. He wasn't seventeen, he was thirteen. I am not defending it or rationalizing it, of course it is child abuse--but it is a reality and not uncommon in some lower class rural (yes, Southern) cultures.
I don't see a wily predator in Michael, he is a dullard. (Who else but a dullard would be interested in Amy?)