March 12, 2021 By Jon King / jking@whmi.com
The guilty verdict of a Brighton-area man for raping a teenage girl at a golf course has been vacated by a local judge.
In court Thursday morning, Livingston County Judge Michael Hatty read a ten-page opinion from the bench concerning the verdict against 22-year-old Zachary Lally of Green Oak Township. Lallyâs attorneys had sought a new trial based on allegations that Assistant Prosecutor Pamela Maas solicited perjured testimony from a detective in the case. Hatty referenced several examples of what he termed âprosecutorial misconductâ that resulted in Lally âbeing denied a fair and impartial trial.â He then concluded that a new trial was warranted.
One year after a jury convicted Zachary Lally of rape, Livingston County Chief Judge Michael Hatty granted him a new trial.
On March 11, 2020, Lally, 22, of Greek Oak Township was found guilty of three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct causing personal injury and one count each of second-degree criminal sexual conduct causing injury and assault with intent to commit sexual penetration.
The victim in the case testified Lally raped her multiple times in the fall of 2018 in Green Oak Township.
Tom Kizer, one of Lally s attorneys, filed a motion in June asking for a new trial, claiming former Livingston County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Pamela Maas committed several instances of misconduct.