Post by HeadMarshal on Aug 2, 2015 16:43:53 GMT -5
abcnews.go.com/US/19-year-spend-25-years-registered-sex-offender/story?id=32783206
Perhaps some of you have already read this story but I felt it would be good to mention this and discuss here, since it has important life lessons for both young people and parents. Here's a short summary of what happened.
Zach Anderson is a 19-year old living in Ohio when he met a 17-year old girl on an online dating app. Problem is, the girl was really 14-years old and lied about her age. Zach agreed to meet her across state lines in Michigan where they went to have sex in a park. The girl's mother reported her daughter missing and two months later, detectives arrested Zach at the mechanic shop where he was working.
Zach pled guilty to sexual conduct with a minor and the 15-year old girl and her mother testified on his behalf, saying he wasn't a monster and nothing should happen to him. The judge on the other hand called the incident a culture of “meet, hook-up, have sex, sayonara, totally inappropriate behavior." Zach was sentenced to 90 days in prison and 25 years on the public sex offender registry.
As a result of that punishment, for the next five years, Zach is unable to legally use a cell phone, the internet, to talk to anyone under 17 excluding immediate family members, to go to any establishment that serves alcohol and to be outside his home after 8pm. Zach is therefore unable to start a computer science school course, go to the skatepark and had to live in a new home away from where children frequent. Senator Rick Jones (R), who wrote the sex offender law said Zach should have been more careful.
--
Thoughts? Several people are outraged for different reasons at the circumstances here. The most illogical comments are from those who are calling for the abolish of the entire public sex offender registry. As we have seen from America's Most Wanted/The Hunt, there are many sex offenders who certainly need to be on that registry and there are so many who flee to commit new crimes and avoid being publicly featured, so I think we should all agree that the sex offender registry does need to remain public.
As far as Zach's punishment goes, I have gone on different sides of this debate over the years as to whether people are unfairly being put on the registry, and the registry can't be perfect so mistakes do happen. The issue I have, and I have no issue with online dating (as long as it's done properly) as I met my girlfriend on the internet, is the decision of Zach to meet this girl, have sex with her and then return to Ohio. That is all he cared about doing, no going out to dinner, no meeting her family, no visiting touristy locations, no spending quality time doing something that interested both of them, etc. There was just so much lack of information about their livelihoods, that this wasn't a true romantic outing but a chance to engage in sex and go home.
People also blame the girl for lying about her age and thinking she got Zach into this situation. Zach and this girl never introduced themselves to either opposite set of parents, and the girl even testified at the trial that he didn't do anything wrong. People wanted to have the girl charged but what could she have been charged with exactly?
And most important, Zach pled guilty. When you plead guilty, the judge is allowed to impose whatever sentence he/she deems appropriate. The judge didn't do anything wrong in my opinion, he just looked at the law in Michigan and saw a 19-year old who went to meet a girl for the chance to have sex with someone who was really 14-years old, and who committed a serious felony.
However, this is a public message board where everyone is entitled to their opinion on this case and I would like to hear the thoughts of whether you agree or disagree with Zach's punishment.
Perhaps some of you have already read this story but I felt it would be good to mention this and discuss here, since it has important life lessons for both young people and parents. Here's a short summary of what happened.
Zach Anderson is a 19-year old living in Ohio when he met a 17-year old girl on an online dating app. Problem is, the girl was really 14-years old and lied about her age. Zach agreed to meet her across state lines in Michigan where they went to have sex in a park. The girl's mother reported her daughter missing and two months later, detectives arrested Zach at the mechanic shop where he was working.
Zach pled guilty to sexual conduct with a minor and the 15-year old girl and her mother testified on his behalf, saying he wasn't a monster and nothing should happen to him. The judge on the other hand called the incident a culture of “meet, hook-up, have sex, sayonara, totally inappropriate behavior." Zach was sentenced to 90 days in prison and 25 years on the public sex offender registry.
As a result of that punishment, for the next five years, Zach is unable to legally use a cell phone, the internet, to talk to anyone under 17 excluding immediate family members, to go to any establishment that serves alcohol and to be outside his home after 8pm. Zach is therefore unable to start a computer science school course, go to the skatepark and had to live in a new home away from where children frequent. Senator Rick Jones (R), who wrote the sex offender law said Zach should have been more careful.
--
Thoughts? Several people are outraged for different reasons at the circumstances here. The most illogical comments are from those who are calling for the abolish of the entire public sex offender registry. As we have seen from America's Most Wanted/The Hunt, there are many sex offenders who certainly need to be on that registry and there are so many who flee to commit new crimes and avoid being publicly featured, so I think we should all agree that the sex offender registry does need to remain public.
As far as Zach's punishment goes, I have gone on different sides of this debate over the years as to whether people are unfairly being put on the registry, and the registry can't be perfect so mistakes do happen. The issue I have, and I have no issue with online dating (as long as it's done properly) as I met my girlfriend on the internet, is the decision of Zach to meet this girl, have sex with her and then return to Ohio. That is all he cared about doing, no going out to dinner, no meeting her family, no visiting touristy locations, no spending quality time doing something that interested both of them, etc. There was just so much lack of information about their livelihoods, that this wasn't a true romantic outing but a chance to engage in sex and go home.
People also blame the girl for lying about her age and thinking she got Zach into this situation. Zach and this girl never introduced themselves to either opposite set of parents, and the girl even testified at the trial that he didn't do anything wrong. People wanted to have the girl charged but what could she have been charged with exactly?
And most important, Zach pled guilty. When you plead guilty, the judge is allowed to impose whatever sentence he/she deems appropriate. The judge didn't do anything wrong in my opinion, he just looked at the law in Michigan and saw a 19-year old who went to meet a girl for the chance to have sex with someone who was really 14-years old, and who committed a serious felony.
However, this is a public message board where everyone is entitled to their opinion on this case and I would like to hear the thoughts of whether you agree or disagree with Zach's punishment.
