IS THIS BULLSHIT OR APPROPRIATE?

[aussiefriend]

Cutz. has anyone ever told you that you were inappropriate? Not for that last post, I just mean in your general life?

[sally]

But the ex in her infinite wisdom tried all kinds of things to make me look bad.

My mom use to do that. She once told me that my dad was gay . It wasn't as funny when I was 8 years old as it is now.

I ended up telling my dad's girlfriend about it while she watching me during summer vacation. She told my dad and needless to say he was pretty pissed off .

[Cutz]

Cutz. has anyone ever told you that you were inappropriate? Not for that last post, I just mean in your general life?

Sure.

[HairOfTheDog]

Bullshit or Appropriate?


Zach Anderson (pictured with his parents upon his release from prison), 19, has been put on the sex offender register for a 25 years after having sex with a 14-year-old girl in Niles, Michigan, last December.

Zach, from Elkhart, Indiana, was arrested after his date's worried mother called 911 when her daughter, who has epilepsy, failed to return to the family's Michigan home one night last winter.

He later admitted that he had met the unnamed girl using the app 'Hot or Not' and then traveled 20 miles to see her in Niles in December. They had consensual sex once after meeting, he said. However, he said the girl had lied about her age on the app, pretending she was aged 17, not 14.

The girl subsequently admitted she had lied and she and her mother testified on Zach's behalf in court - but the judge still sentenced Zach to 90 days in prison. Now, the teenager's parents are appealing his probation terms.

In addition to having to be registered as a sex offender until he's 44, Anderson has been banned from owning a smart phone or using the web for the next five years, cannot talk to people aged under 17, and cannot visit premises that serve alcohol. Zach met the girl via the online hookup app, 'Hot or Not?', on which she claimed she was 17.

Full story: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...d-age.html

[Duchess]

It's bullshit.

Why is it always the guys who pay for this crap when it's the female who is the liar? Punish her too!

[Carsman]

It's bullshit.

Why is it always the guys who pay for this crap when it's the female who is the liar? Punish her too!

Agree, Tis !


The "young" guy's life is ruined forever, and the girl will just move on!

[username]

I've said it before....it's a different world for guys these days. Not only should they get written consent from an intoxicated woman for sex so she doesn't later cry rape, they should probably ask for proof of age/I.D. too (and take a pic of it just in case).

Jesus...this is a whole 'nother "talk" I'm going to have to have with my kids.

My daughter doesn't "do" social media these days but in darker times, when she was just sitting around the house all day, she'd go on random websites and lie about her age. Yes she did. And I'd hate to see my son at 18 suckered in by some girl lying about her age.

[HairOfTheDog]

It's not a double-standard case, in my view.

I'm seeing a hell of a lot of stories about women being arrested and prosecuted for having sex with underage boys. However, the women in all of those cases knew how old the boys were and chose to break the law.

In the case of Zach Adams, given his young age and the fact that he was clearly deceived about the girl's age, I think it's total bullshit that he spent 90 days in jail, will be a registered sex-offender for 25 years, and is being cut off from technology and drinking establishments. Total bullshit. I hope he and his parents win their appeal.

I do think he probably learned a good lesson about prowling and taking things at face value, though. But, that could have been accomplished effectively with some court-mandated courses or more reasonable/minimal short-term restrictions.

[crash]

I read somewhere that the judge was a major factor? That the girl, and her mother, both testified in favour of the boy; that he was totally deceived and that the girl lied and they felt he should not be punished?

The judge then gave a ruling of something like 'kids are to eager to get online, find casual partners and have sex without a second thought kids these days! kind of speech and literally fucked his life?

I hope they win too, and I hope there are ramifications for the judge if that is correct.

[aussiefriend]

Crash, are you back in Austraya? I bet not, those Chinese will keep you busy. I have been away so I don't know.

[crash]

For a week or two. Then away again, but not China. I'm done with China.

[HairOfTheDog]

I read somewhere that the judge was a major factor? That the girl, and her mother, both testified in favour of the boy; that he was totally deceived and that the girl lied and they felt he should not be punished?

The judge then gave a ruling of something like 'kids are to eager to get online, find casual partners and have sex without a second thought kids these days! kind of speech and literally fucked his life?

I hope they win too, and I hope there are ramifications for the judge if that is correct.

Thanks crash -- I checked out some older coverage of the case and the judge does appear to have invoked his personal distaste for the "hook-up culture" as justification for the harsh punishment. He has the discretion to do so, but I think his decision in this case was wrong.

Snip:
Zachery Anderson said he met a girl in the "over 18" section of the Hot or Not website. They started talking, she told him she was 17 and they arranged a date.

He picked her up at her Niles home on Dec. 19. It wasn't until detectives came knocking on his door in January that he would learn the girl was just 14 at the time they couple had consensual sex.

"I didn't listen to that gut feeling," Anderson told NewsCenter16 in a phone interview from the Berrien County jail.

Anderson was ordered to spend 90 days in jail, serve five years on probation and spend 25 years on Michigan's sex offender registry at his April sentencing. The sentence came as a shock to Anderson and his legal team, who believed that the teen qualified for a Michigan law that would allow for a more lenient sentence for first-time offenders.

The Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (HYTA), MCL Section 762.11, applies to individuals between the ages of 17 and 21 with clean records. It would have allowed Anderson to serve a "youthful trainee probationary term," in many cases without requiring that individual to register as a sex offender.

Even the girl and the girl's mother, who NewsCenter16 has chosen not to name, pleaded with the court not to punish Anderson. "I'm very sorry and I hope you'll consider just dropping the case," the girl's mother said at an April 13 hearing.

Berrien County District Court Judge Dennis Wiley decided against the lenient sentence.
"You went online... Trolling for women to meet and have sex with," Judge Wiley told Anderson in court. "That seems to be part of the culture now. Meet, hookup, have sex, sayonara. " Wiley went on to say the teen was lucky the county prosecutor gave him the deal that he did.

But Anderson's family emphatically disagrees. "He ignored the mother of the girl, he ignored the girl, he ignored Zach's parents, he ignored our attorney," said Zach's father, Lester Anderson. "HYTA is in place for things like this."

Anderson, a computer science major on scholarship at Ivy Tech Community College in Elkhart, has been ordered not to possess a computer or any device capable of accessing the internet. He'll have to give up his major and will likely lose his scholarship.

He's also not allowed to live in his parent's home, live near schools or parks, or have any interaction with persons under the age of 17.

Anderson's family says the punishment does not fit the crime. "I understand that there's a time when this is necessary, but this is not the case at all," Lester Anderson said "For a guy to go on a date with a girl whom he thinks is the age of consent , a 17-year-old, to now be labeled as a violent sex offender?"

The family is planning an appeal, in part due to incorrect information provided in the initial pre-sentencing report. "That's the only thing I have hope for is the appeal," Zach Anderson said. "Because if the appeal doesn't go through, then pretty much I don't know what I'm going to do with my future and my career."

Anderson's family said they are telling their son's story in the hopes that other families will not have to endure the same pain they have had to go through. "You never think for a second that something like this is going to enter your family's life based on a judge's lack of common sense, decency or compassion on a young man who made an innocent mistake," said Zach's mother, Amanda Anderson. "And he didn't even realize that he had. He had been deceived by a girl."

http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/Elkha...62801.html
---------------------------------------

I don't think Zach is as innocent as his parents claim; he admitted he had a "gut feeling" in regards to the girl's age.

Still, IMO, he should have been given the lighter punishment under the youthful first-offender option that his attorney was pushing. I agree with the parents that the punishment does not fit the crime.

I think the family will win the appeal.

[HairOfTheDog]

Honey I forgot the kid...

Gilbert, Arizona police have charged a mother of four with misdemeanor child endangerment after she left her two-month old son unattended, strapped in a car-seat inside a shopping cart, for over an hour.



^ Cherish Peterson, 27, said she was rushing around a Fry's grocery store, buying candy for her nephew's birthday party and had three of her four young children with her. She drove away with her other kids - and the baby, Huxton, was left behind in front of the neighboring Supercuts.

Salon employees figured the baby had been abandoned when no one came to claim him immediately and called police. Meanwhile, Cherish pulled into her garage and realized what she'd forgotten the baby when her 3-year-old asked her where Huxton was. She sped back to the shopping center. The baby was unharmed and returned safely to his mother.


^ While the baby was in the salon, one of the employees tweeted out a picture of Huxton and speculated that the AWOL mother must be a drunk or something.

When police later charged the mother with child endangerment, the story went viral and a growing group of parents, along with Cherish's husband and family, are now petitioning to have the charges dropped; they feel that it was an honest mistake that could happen to anyone and that it won't happen again.

Others, including Supercuts' employees, feel that the charges are appropriate because Cherish did in fact endanger the baby when she left him unattended outside in the hot Arizona son, even if it was unintentional.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...other.html

I've had two kids in my care and taken them shopping many times. There's no way I could have left one behind. But, I never had a baby and two little ones with me while I was rushing around, so I have no personal experience to draw from.

Is the charge appropriate, or heavy-handed bullshit in your opinion?

[Blindgreed1]

Honey I forgot the kid...

Gilbert, Arizona police have charged a mother of four with misdemeanor child endangerment after she left her two-month old son unattended, strapped in a car-seat inside a shopping cart, for over an hour.



^ Cherish Peterson, 27, said she was rushing around a Fry's grocery store, buying candy for her nephew's birthday party and had three of her four young children with her. She drove away with her other kids - and the baby, Huxton, was left behind in front of the neighboring Supercuts.

Salon employees figured the baby had been abandoned when no one came to claim him immediately and called police. Meanwhile, Cherish pulled into her garage and realized what she'd forgotten the baby when her 3-year-old asked her where Huxton was. She sped back to the shopping center. The baby was unharmed and returned safely to his mother.


^ While the baby was in the salon, one of the employees tweeted out a picture of Huxton and speculated that the AWOL mother must be a drunk or something.

When police later charged the mother with child endangerment, the story went viral and a growing group of parents, along with Cherish's husband and family, are now petitioning to have the charges dropped; they feel that it was an honest mistake that could happen to anyone and that it won't happen again.

Others, including Supercuts' employees, feel that the charges are appropriate because Cherish did in fact endanger the baby when she left him unattended outside in the hot Arizona son, even if it was unintentional.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-...other.html

I've had two kids in my care and taken them shopping many times. There's no way I could have left one behind. But, I never had a baby and two little ones with me while I was rushing around, so I have no personal experience to draw from.

Is the charge appropriate, or heavy-handed bullshit in your opinion?

I almost made it out of the driveway once with my son in his car seat on top of the car. I was distracted because I was running late and didn't realize my mistake until I started taking inventory of the things he'd need while at the baby sitters house before I drove away from the house. Made one last check to see if he was still asleep and BANG! He's not in the BACK SEAT!!! HOLY CRAP that scared the shit out of me.

[Duchess]

Is the charge appropriate, or heavy-handed bullshit in your opinion?

I felt sorry for her after first reading the story a day or so ago. I believe her account of what went down and I believe she loves her children and would never knowingly put them in harms way. I say all of this because I believe what I read. I don't think she deserves to be charged.

For all of you who are going to scoff at me for believing what I read, eat a bag of shit.

[HairOfTheDog]

I can understand how a good dad like Gunnar almost drove off with his baby son on top of the car (which would scare the crap outta me too and ensure it never almost happened again).

I can also understand how a mom rushing around the store with two little kids could leave a new baby in the cart and just assume she'd put him in the car with everything else. If the mom in this case is telling the truth, and I've seen no indication that she's not, I can still see how a misdemeanor endangerment charge technically applies under the law and it won't bother me if she's convicted (she won't have a felony record or lose her kids or anything). But, I don't think prosecuting her for endangerment is necessary or serves any purpose.

To me, what happened in this case is different than leaving a baby in a hot car for hours after you've already reached your destination and settled in, or leaving loaded unlocked guns lying around with kids on the premises.

[Jimbone]

Ill tell you what's bullshit about this story... the manager of SuperCuts calling the place a 'salon'.

[username]

Ill tell you what's bullshit about this story... the manager of SuperCuts calling the place a 'salon'.

True dat!


I'm not firing on all cylinders and I'm too lazy to go back and reread the article. If she left the baby in the cart outside while she was shopping, that's negligent. If she left the baby in the cart only while she was loading up her car and then "oops" forgot baby, that's a mistake but no, I don't think she should be charged.

Gunnar, Gunnar, Gunnar....you nut.

[sally]

I almost left my daughter in the car when she was 3 months old. I picked up my son and his friend from school and then went to the grocery store. We all got out of the car and as soon as I locked it I thought oh shit the baby. I guess it was because I didn't usually take her with me to pick up the kids. Then of course my son had to tell everyone how I almost left the baby in the car.

I didn't leave her outside in front of freaking Supercuts for an hour though. I'd say that's entering in to child endangerment territory even if it was an honest mistake.

[HairOfTheDog]

I almost left my daughter in the car when she was 3 months old. I picked up my son and his friend from school and then went to the grocery store. We all got out of the car and as soon as I locked it I thought oh shit the baby. I guess it was because I didn't usually take her with me to pick up the kids. Then of course my son had to tell everyone how I almost left the baby in the car.

I didn't leave her outside in front of freaking Supercuts for an hour though. I'd say that's entering in to child endangerment territory even if it was an honest mistake.

There are a lot of moms sharing stories similar to yours in response to Cherish Peterson's story.



^ I watched the interview with Cherish. She says she ran into the store with the kids to get some candy for a party, loaded up and took off. She said she usually takes her cart back, but this time she parked right in front of the store so she didn't have to. She thought she put the baby in the car, but left him in the cart.

She says it was 40 minutes from the time she left the store until the time she got back to the store in a panic (a police officer had moved the baby to the Supercuts next door). Police confirmed that's true. They know it was an honest mistake, but I guess they figure the baby was endangered anyhow and they're going by the book.

I don't think this story would ever have gone viral if the workers at the Supercuts didn't post the baby's photo to social media and speculate that the mother was drunk; from there bloggers went nuts calling her a drug-addict and a bitch and such and it all snowballed.

Anyway, I'm glad the kid's okay, and the mom will surely survive the shame.