Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

RKP5637

(67,112 posts)
Sun Aug 2, 2015, 11:58 AM Aug 2015

Judge is way over the line IMO: This 19-Year-Old Will Spend the Next 25 Years as a Registered Sex

Offender. I hope the parents are successful.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/19-year-spend-25-years-registered-sex-offender/story?id=32783206

Since his release last month, their son Zach Anderson’s freedom has been severely restricted because at just 19 years old, Zach is a convicted sex offender.

Zach was arrested last winter after having sex with a girl he met on the dating app “Hot or Not,” who claimed she was 17. But she admitted to police that was a lie. She was really 14.

If he had known she was so young, Zach said, he never would have met her.

“I wouldn't even have gone to her house, like I literally wouldn't have gone to her house at all,” he said.

As a convicted sex offender, the terms of Zach’s probation are incredibly strict. For the next five years, he is forbidden from owning a smart phone or using the Internet. He is not allowed to talk to anyone under age 17, other than immediate family. He is banned from going to any establishment that serves alcohol and he has to be home before 8 p.m. every night.

“They make me out to be a monster,” Zach said. “I can't even look at life regularly.”

His parents say his punishment is cruel and unusual, and they are waging a very public fight, even setting up a Facebook page, hoping to rally support for their son.
12 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

Bay Boy

(1,689 posts)
1. Good luck to them
Sun Aug 2, 2015, 12:32 PM
Aug 2015

but I doubt if they will succeed. He will forever be thought of as a sexual predator and vilified by his neighbors.

TexasBushwhacker

(20,215 posts)
3. Don't parents have the jail bait talk with their sons
Sun Aug 2, 2015, 12:40 PM
Aug 2015

anymore? I know my mother read the sexual riot act to my brothers.

Fla Dem

(23,754 posts)
4. Some things just are not right. In this case
Sun Aug 2, 2015, 12:45 PM
Aug 2015

because the girl lied about her age, and even testified on the kid's behalf, he should not be labeled a sex offender. OMG, I am as fervent a supporter of protecting women of all ages from abuse and exploitation, but this is just wrong for this kid to be labeled a sex offender for the next 25 years.

RKP5637

(67,112 posts)
6. It's just outrageous. A mistake was made, probably similar to what millions
Sun Aug 2, 2015, 01:13 PM
Aug 2015

have innocently done. The punishment does not fit what happened.

StevieM

(10,500 posts)
5. Here are the comments by the judge that I think shed some interesting light on this case:
Sun Aug 2, 2015, 01:05 PM
Aug 2015

"But the judge condemned what he called a culture of “meet, hook-up, have sex, sayonara, totally inappropriate behavior,” according to court documents."

What do those comments have to do with statutory rape? What do they have to do with whether or not a minor was exploited?

The judge was lamenting hook-up culture--in other words, consensual sex, regardless of the age of the participants.


 

davidn3600

(6,342 posts)
8. The sex offender registry is being flooded with cases like this
Sun Aug 2, 2015, 01:19 PM
Aug 2015

And it's causing these registries to become diluted and now the real serious predators are being lost in the clutter.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Judge is way over the lin...