I also think there's something fishy about this. There should be enough evidence about that not only the victim's tears.. maybe it's just good acting.. direct mail services

If this girl had alreadey waited so long because she was embarassed, then what gave her the motivation to come forward now? Something had to have motivated this sudden spontaneous report. Most likely some old grudge, want for attention, or a good old fashion case of "tell mom and dad it was rape so I won't get in trouble for having sex." These charges are baseless and the citizen should be ashamed of themselves for smearing a young man's reputation so vigorously when there is no concrete evidence whatsoever. I suppose this only shows the vulgar and bloodthristy nature of journalism as a profession. Since they weren't good enough to be real writers, they have to throw loaded words around the front page regardless of the evidence or aftershock.

If this says labor day of 2005, Zach would have still been 17. and with her being 16 at that time, this really looks like two teenagers having consentual sex, and nothing more.
"she waited so long to come forward because she was so embarrassed..."
or could it be that her parents found out she was having sex, and this was the easiest excuse to explain why?
Clearly this story is full of it. They put his name all over it and she STILL remains 'anonymous'. Thanks for ruining his life, alleged victim.

this seems to be a far cry from the stance Tryone police and a Fayette county DA took on a 3 year old ...'she said;..

(05-02) 15:01 PDT SAN FRANCISCO -- After spending nearly a year trying to decide whether a 17-year-old girl was gang-raped during a party at the home of two De Anza College baseball players, the state attorney general's office said Friday that there was no way to tell whether allegations of "disgraceful" behavior by several men also amounted to a crime.

The men who came under suspicion of sexual assault for what happened at the off-campus party in March 2007, many of them De Anza players, cannot be prosecuted because of "wildly conflicting accounts" supplied by witnesses whose memories were often clouded by alcohol, and because of a lack of "consistent, useful identifications," Attorney General Jerry Brown's office said.

"We consider the criminal case closed," Santa Clara County District Attorney Dolores Carr said shortly after state prosecutors backed her nearly year-old decision not to file charges.

Carr had asked Brown to review the case after three women who were at the party at a bungalow in unincorporated San Jose and pulled the girl from the home protested the district attorney's decision not to prosecute, as did victims' rights advocates.

The case arose after the three young women, players on the De Anza women's soccer team, forced their way into a room at the party March 3, 2007, after they peered through a partially covered French door and saw the girl on a mattress apparently being sexually assaulted as several men stood around.

She was intoxicated to the point of being comatose and had vomit on her face, the women said.

After forcing their way past a young man blocking the door, they were able to drag the teen to their car and take her to a hospital, the young women said. But they "were unable to provide consistent, useful identifications of the persons they observed engaging in sexual contact" with the girl, Chief Assistant Attorney General Dane Gillette wrote in a letter to Carr dated Friday.

"Without such identifications, we cannot ethically pursue a prosecution," he wrote. "It is certainly not proper to simply criminally charge everyone who may have been in the room."

The alleged victim in the case, identified only as Jane Doe, "has no memory of anything that happened at that party beyond her initial arrival," Gillette wrote.

The three women who reported seeing the incident - April Grolle, Lauren Chief Elk and Lauren Breayans - said they were devastated by the prosecutors' position.

"We are disappointed beyond words at (the) decision and in the entire criminal justice system," the women said in a joint statement. "The message seems to be, if you get an underage girl drunk enough, you can get away with rape."

John Cahners, an attorney for a former De Anza baseball player whose family owns the home where the party was held, said the decision is the correct one.

"I'm happy they did the right thing, rather than make a political decision on what they may have perceived people wanted," Cahners said. "I'm hoping people will learn they shouldn't rush to judgment on a few things they hear in the news media."

Prosecutors, though, clearly indicated they felt their hands were tied by the limitations in the evidence they had.

I am sickened by this entire case. I have known Zach since the third grade and I can tell you right now he would never rape ANYBODY. I hang out with him quite often and he is a great guy. I feel so bad that someone I love can be charged with two things that are complete lies from stupid girls.

Before you completely ruin his name..(oh wait you already did) maybe you should find out a little more about these girls...and how THEY really are.

Zach has been through a lot and he has one of the best hearts I have ever known. This whole thing breaks my heart because these girls are LIARS.

I really hope the fayette county judicial system can get its act together and leave him alone. And as for you citizen..I know you posted this story because media is a form of "entertainment" and there is nothing more interesting than a rape in the small town of Tyrone! (sarcasm) But get your facts straight before you completely ruin another innocent persons name.

I hope these girls learn there lesson. Because as a female I know how much stronger our word is..but that does not mean you abuse it and ruin people's lives.

I love you Zach.

-E

Castings testified that he has seen people fake tears in the past as part of his profession, but he believed the victim’s tears were genuine in this case as she reported the incident to him at the Tyrone Police Department.

I'd love to know how he can tell fake tears from real ones...I've seen my share of both, and can barely tell them apart. How many girls have cried their way out of a speeding ticket with fake tears?

Yeah...base the credibility of her story and this case on tears....brilliant idea...

Screw The Citizen for posting this extremely misleading article or any article regarding this case. There is no proof of any rape but courtesy of the citizen they have already put his name all over the web. Even if he is not charged, any future employer can just google his name and what pops up? Tyrone Rape (Thanks to that Middle initial The Citizen kindly supplied the public with...seriously wtf?). This whole thing is edited.

it is extremely difficult for a young girl to actually tell someone about this sort of abuse. The girl feels like it was "her fault" that she trusted the guy in any form or fashion. This is also a good time to explain to your daughters that clean cut young men in their very own high schools could be rapists. Just say no only works if he asks.
I don't know if he is guilty or not, but let's not discourage young girls from reporting crimes like rape just because it took them 2-3 years to get up the courage to tell.

that reporters of actual events do not. Fictional stories have to be believable.

I am a unit of little brain, in case you haven't noticed.

What on Earth could possibly be the reason for $100,000 bond? This is a classic "he said/she said" scenario, there is no physical evidence, there is no evidence presented that this guy is at risk of fleeing the county but the judge pops him with a $100K bond?

That does not seem right.

"Castings testified...he believed the victim's tears were genuine"...to quote the Simpsons "That's some damned fine police work there, Lou!".

Hey Richard Hobbs, I need your fine legal mind here!! What Georgia statute permits into evidence what a police officer "believes" to be true?

One thing Zach Higgins needs to do is fire his incompetent defense attorney. I can't believe this dimwit DEFENSE attorney admitted his client done "date raped" that girl in open court.
___________
Diagnosing Denise

That is a victim's best chance of receiving justice and not being victimized again. Zach is arrested, his name is plastered in the papers, and the DA attempts to deny him bond on a two-year-old allegation. The accused is rarely given anonymity.

A court of law will have to weigh the testimonies (as there will be little to offer in terms of evidence), but all of this would have been MUCH, MUCH easier to fairly try and judge if the alleged victim had immediately come forward. This is the "Anita Hill" problem. Even if you are telling the truth, the passage of time and imperfect memories make facts much more difficult to glean. I hope justice can possibly be served here. If nothing else, we can use this situation to talk with our children, male and female. I will share with my daughter to NEVER let someone she does not trust with her life in our house (or hers when she's on her own) if she is alone. NEVER NEVER NEVER!

With my son, this is a perfect "No means No," "maybe" means no, "I'm not sure" means no conversation. I'm not saying this is the case here, but it serves as a good case study.

Again, I pray that the truth can somehow come out, clearing the name of the innocent party.

Kevin "Hack" King
(anyone want two dogs???)

the ages in this article are misleading...was the girl 16 at the time of the alleged incident or is she now 16? it reads now that she's 16 and he's 20 which would have made them 13-14 and 17 at the time and I don't believe that's correct...

"Lord help me not to focus on what I give to you, but instead see the power of the one that I give to..." Jonny Diaz