Zach Anderson of Elkhart will study computer science again and he will be taken off Michigan sex offender registry after his original sentence was thrown out earlier this week.
Berrien County Judge Angela Pasula told Anderson, 20, during a hearing Friday, Sept. 11, that she would sentence him as if he were just entering a guilty plea, according to 95.3 MNC’s news partners The Elkhart Truth.
Pasula said that Anderson can use a computer for work and school, FOX 28 reported. He is not allowed to use social media or dating sites or contact the victim, but Anderson said he plans on studying computer science again. He had been required to change his college major because of the terms of his original sentence.
- RELATED: Elkhart man sentenced for sex with girl who lied about her age wants to withdraw guilty plea, June 19, 2015
Pasula said she will also order that he be removed from Michigan sex offender registry. Because Michigan courts can’t order Anderson off Indiana’s sex offender registry, he’ll remain on it for now, The Elkhart Truth reported.
Anderson’s new curfew is from 9 p.m. until 7 a.m. the next day daily. His bond was reset at $20,000 and he cannot possess alcohol, controlled substances or weapons.
In March, Anderson pleaded guilty to criminal sexual conduct after he had sex in December with a 14-year-old girl who told him she was 17. He was 19 at the time. The two had met on the over-18 section of the Hot or Not dating app. The girl told Anderson her true age weeks after their encounter.
Berrien County Judge Dennis Wiley first heard Anderson’s case and sentenced him to 25 years on the sex offender registry, 90 days in jail and an additional five years on probation. He was forbidden from using a computer or living in a home where Internet service was available, which meant he had to stop studying computer science at Ivy Tech Community College. The sentence was vacated Sept. 3, though Anderson had already completed the jail time.
He will be sentenced Oct. 19.
- RELATED: Zach Anderson’s father calls into The Casey Hendrickson Show to discuss his son’s case, May 20, 2015
