By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


A decision on whether a convicted Brighton-area rapist should get a new trial is delayed until the end of the year.

22-year-old Zachary Lally of Genoa Township was found guilty by a jury in the October 2018 sexual assault of a teenage girl who worked at a concession stand at the Oak Pointe Golf Course. A motion was filed in June by Howell Attorney Tom Kizer accusing Livingston County Assistant Prosecutor Pamela Maas of soliciting perjured testimony from a Livingston County Sheriff's detective. Specifically, Kizer alleges that during the trial, a conversation between Maas and Livingston County Sheriff's Office Det. Greg Thompson was caught on tape between proceedings in which Thompson indicated that he had forgotten his prior testimony concerning Lally's clothes, and Mass told Thompson, 'just say that we discussed it,” but based on Lally’s statements, she felt they had enough evidence without it. The motion further alleges Maas joked that if Thompson gave that answer, Lally’s attorney Roland Sizemore III, “will gasp, and that Maas will laugh."

While Livingston County Prosecutor Bill Vailliencourt previously called the allegation “without merit” he asked the Michigan Attorney General to handle the case, which appointed the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office to deal with the motion seeking a new trial for. Over the course of several hearings, the last of which was held Tuesday, Assistant Oakland County Prosecutor Danielle Walton argued that the defense missed its opportunity to claim prosecutorial misconduct as the issue was addressed during the trial.

However, Livingston County Circuit Court Chief Judge Michael Hatty asked Kizer to file a brief on the Lally motion for a new trial between October 20th and November 10th, after which prosecutors have three weeks to submit their brief. Kizer will then have two weeks to respond, possibly putting a decision into mid-December. Lally, who faces up to life in prison, had originally been set to be sentenced last month but remains at the Livingston County Jail pending the outcome of the hearing.