It seems pretty clear at this point that the retraction was made up my someone, I should think
I might also add that paying off Chandler doesn't make criminal charges go away, in fact it also wouldn't interfere with a criminal trial. Evan, Jordan's father, was pressing forward with a civil suit. THIS is what was settled out of court.
It's worth reading about the situation. The whole thing is pretty messed up. At the very least, Evan Chandler seems like a pretty terrible father.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jordan_Chandler