Mr.
Anderson, who was 19 at the time of his offense last December, was
sentenced on Monday to two years’ probation under the state’s Holmes
Youthful Trainee Act, a special status for young offenders that a
previous judge had denied him. Under the terms of his new sentence,
issued by Judge Angela M. Pasula of Berrien County District Court, Mr.
Anderson will not be required to join the sex offender registry in
Michigan, and in a change from his original sentence, he will be allowed
to use the Internet for schoolwork.
“Before
he was on the sex offender list and he was a convicted felon,” said
Scott Grabel, Mr. Anderson’s lawyer. “Now, as long as he successfully
completes probation, nothing ever goes on the record in reference to
this matter. This gives us significant closure in the case.”
The
judge who issued Mr. Anderson’s original sentence, Dennis M. Wiley, had
ordered him to serve 90 days in jail, join the Michigan sex offender
registry list for 25 years and remain on probation for five years with
no access to a smartphone or the Internet. Mr. Anderson was granted a
new hearing after he and his parents protested that sentence.
At
the time of his offense, Mr. Anderson was studying computer science at a
community college in Indiana, where he lived with his parents. He met a
girl on Hot or Not, a dating app, and they arranged for Mr. Anderson to
pick her up at her house in Michigan, miles over the Indiana state
line. They had sex at a playground and Mr. Anderson drove her home,
where she discovered that her parents, concerned about her whereabouts,
had called the police.
The
girl had told Mr. Anderson that she was 17 but later admitted that she
was only 14. Mr. Anderson, after being confronted by the police weeks
later, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct.
Both
the girl and her mother appeared in a district court earlier this year
to defend Mr. Anderson and ask the judge for leniency in the case.
For
now, Mr. Anderson will remain on the sex offender registry in Indiana,
where he lives. Mr. Grabel said he believed he would be able to
successfully challenge that in court.
“It’s
a relief,” said Lester Anderson, Mr. Anderson’s father. Under the
special status for young offenders, he said, “You’re able to learn from
your mistakes and move on with your life without the stigma of the
conviction.”
Source: NY Times
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