Unaware: Zachary Anderson, 19, is currently serving a three-month prison sentence for having sex with a 14 year old girl. However, the girl lied about her age to use a hook-up app to meet Anderson

A 19-year-old is seeing his life crumble in front of him, after innocently using a hook-up app to meet a girl online, like so many of his peers.

Zachary Anderson, of Elkhart, Indiana, used the app 'Hot or Not?' to meet a girl in nearby Niles, Michigan, who he had consensual sex with once after meeting in person in December.

However, the girl lied about her age to use the app, pretending she was 17 when she was really 14 years old.

Authorities would never have found out about the unintentional statutory rape if it weren't for the girl's mother.

The unidentified victim, who suffers from epilepsy, left home that night to meet up with Anderson and when she was late returning home, her mother worried that she might have an attack so she called police.

When law enforcement found out about the illegal tryst, they had no choice but to arrest Anderson, despite the victim and her mother asking that the charges be dropped.

Now, the teen is in prison on a 90-day sentence and faces 25 years on the sex offender when he gets out.

Anderson's dreams of working in the computer science field have also been scratched since a strict judge has ordered him banned from computers and smart phones for the next five years of his probation.

This case is now bringing attention to sex offender cases in Michigan, with many calling for more merciful sentences for young offenders.

According to court papers, Anderson and the young girl first started chatting on the Hot or Not app, and decided to meet up in person on December 19.

Anderson drove from his home in Elkhart, Indiana across the border to nearby Niles, Michigan, where he picked the girl up near her home.

He says he believed the girl was 17, like she advertised on the site, and never questioned her about her age in person.

During their one and only meeting, the two had sex and then Anderson dropped the girl back in her neighborhood.

Drop the charges: Anderson's parents Amanda (left) and Lester Anderson (right) pictured above. The unidentified 14-year-old's mother pleaded with a judge to drop the charges against Anderson

While they were hooking up, the girl's mother began to worry. She saw her daughter leave home earlier in the evening, but didn't know where she was going and figured she would be back soon. When she didn't immediately return though, she decided to call 911, fearing that her daughter might miss a dosage of her medicine and go into a fit.

By the time her daughter walked up to the house less than an hour later, officers were waiting and interviewed the girl about her absence.

Immediately after the hook-up, Anderson went on vacation with his family to Florida, and didn't even know anything was wrong until the girl texted him there, saying: 'Oh, we're in a lot of trouble.'

'I asked, "How old are you really?" and then she told me,' Anderson said.

The issue is that in Michigan, even if Anderson had been thorough and asked to see the girl's ID - she could have given him a fake ID and he still would have been committing statutory rape.

Twenty states currently have laws which protect defendants from facing charges for such crimes if the victim lies about their age, but Michigan is one of 30 where that provision does not apply.

Officers first approached Anderson in January, visiting him while he was working at an auto shop. He then turned himself in on February 24, for a crime he didn't even know he committed.

When the case went to trial, both the girl and her mother spoke in court, pleading with the judge to drop the charges.

'I feel that nothing should happen to Zach,' the girl said.

Her mother also tried to take blame for Anderson's arrest, saying that she only called police because she was worried about her daughter's epilepsy and that Anderson 'didn't do anything my daughter didn't do.'

'I don’t want him to be a sex offender because he really is not and I know that there’s an age difference and I realize that (name deleted) was inappropriate that night, we didn’t know.

'I’m very sorry and I hope you’ll really consider the fact of just dropping the case. I can’t say anything more than that. I hope you really will for all of our families.'

Appeal: Anderson's attorneys are currently filing an appeal with hopes to loosen some of the harsh restrictions of his sentence. Anderson pictured above with his parents

While there is a program in Michigan that helps first-time offenders under the age of 21 stay off the sex-offender registry, the judge deciding Anderson's case decided to make a statement.

'The Internet's wonderful, thank you, Al Gore. But it also is a danger,' Berrien County District Court Judge Dennis Wiley said. 'You went online, to use a fisherman's expression, trolling for women to meet and have sex with. That seems to be part of our culture now: meet, hook up, have sex, sayonara. Totally inappropriate behavior. There is no excuse for this, whatsoever.'

With that, Anderson was sent behind bars for a 90-day prison sentence. But it's his life after prison that is going to be the most damaging.

You went online, to use a fisherman's expression, trolling for women to meet and have sex with. That seems to be part of our culture now: meet, hook up, have sex, sayonara. Totally inappropriate behavior. There is no excuse for this, whatsoever. Berrien County District Court Judge Dennis Wiley

For the following five years, Anderson will not be allowed to live in a home where there is internet access or a smart phone, derailing his college major of computer science.

He also won't be able to speak to anyone under the age of 17 except his brothers.

And Anderson isn't the only one who is distraught. The girl he hooked up with and her family are also dealing with the suffering they caused, and have been seeking counseling.

Anderson's defense lawyers are currently working on an appeal, which they hope will get him off the sex offender list and loosen some of the crippling restrictions of his probation.

Perhaps most angry of all though are Anderson's parents - Lester and Amanda - who have had to sit by the sidelines, helpless to save their son.

'He's only been on earth 19 years, and his punishment is longer than he's been alive,Mr Anderson told the South Bend Tribune.

'Is the law supposed to cripple people, or is it supposed to correct people and rehabilitate their lives?' wife Amanda asked. 'This really did no justice to anybody.'

The family have started a Facebook page to keep supporters updated on Anderson's case.