Zachery Anderson denied termination of probation

For someone who probably should not have been prosecuted in the first place, Zach Anderson is certainly continuing to get a raw deal from the system.

Now 22, when Zach was 19 he had sex with someone he met on line who claimed she was 17. Turns out she was only 14. Even though she admitted to lying about her age, Zach was sentenced to jail time, probation and 25 years on Michigan’s sex offender registry.

Following much public outrage and a legal challenge, that sentence was vacated and Zach wound up getting his name removed from the registry. Still, probation conditions are nearly impossible to comply with and recently Zach was alleged to have committed a violation for having “incidental contact” with two people who were under 18. Incidental contact meant he and another happened to be at the same place at the same time, regardless of the fact that it was at his home and at church.

Friday, the Andersons were hoping that the Judge would terminate Zach’s probation six months early, but no luck. The Judge denied the request and Zach will remain on probation until six months.

Unfortunately, when dealing with a system that does not try to support successful re-entry, but instead sets up traps to try to put people back into jail, six months off from wrangling a compliance obstacle course would have been meaningful.