A New York man convicted of using nude photos he solicited from a 13-year-old girl to blackmail her into sex was sentenced to life in federal prison.
Zachary Williams, 37, was found guilty of two counts of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, production of and possession of child pornography, and coercion and enticement of a minor, following a 13-day trial in July.
“Zachary Williams is a callous sexual predator whose crimes against children were especially cruel,” U.S. Attorney John Giordano said. “First and foremost, the Court’s imposed sentence will forever protect our children from further abuse by Williams. My office, and our law enforcement partners, are steadfast in our commitment to protecting our nation’s young people.”
Williams met the girl via Snapchat in September 2020, telling her he was 17 years old, BreakingAC previously reported.
After getting her to send him nude photographs, Williams then used them to "sextort" her by threatening to send the photographs to friends and family.
He then convinced the victim to meet him at the Seaview A Dolce Hotel in Galloway Township, telling the girl she could delete the photos from his phone herself if she met him.
The two had unprotected sex at the hotel Oct. 2, 2020, and then Williams made the girl take a Plan B pill in front of him.
He then allowed the girl to delete the photos.
But that didn't stop the blackmail.
Williams continued to send messages threatening to expose the victim's photographs. When she blocked him on one social media account, he would open new accounts continuing to harass her with names like “IWILLHURTYOU Iwilll_h2021,” “IWILLGETTHESWITCHBACK,” and
“Makeadealormomfindsout.”
The victim eventually told her parents, who met with police in December, sparking an investigation.
Law enforcement officers took over the victim’s social media accounts and began communicating with Williams while posing as the victim.
During those communications, he told the girl to "add pedos and flirt with them" and that "all I want is to continue to be your child molester."
After telling the girl "your (sic) going to be angry crying and sad when I expose you," Williams arranged to travel to the same Galloway hotel March 13, 2021.
But instead of the victim, law enforcement arrested him when he arrived.
"A 13-year-old by any normal definition is a child," said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence Reilly. "Children can't fend for themselves, needing adults to provide food, shelter and security. Williams, and other sexual deviants, prey on helpless children for reasons most of us can't fathom.
"However, it is easy to see why monsters view an innocent and defenseless child as an easy and appealing target,” he continued. “At FBI Newark, alongside our law enforcement partners, we are relentless in our mission to track down and remove these dangerous predators from our communities—because every child deserves to grow up safe and free from harm."
In addition to the life sentence on the coercion and enticement charge, the court sentenced Williams to 30 years on each of the two counts of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, and the count of manufacturing child pornography, and 20 years on the possession of child pornography count, all to run concurrent to the life sentence.
U.S. Attorney Giordano credited special agents of the FBI, Newark Division, Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Terence G. Reilly; officers from the Galloway Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Richard D. Barber, and also recognizes the efforts of the Atlantic City Police Department, under the direction of Chief James A. Sarkos and the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor William Reynolds with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.
NOTE: Federal mugshots are not released publicly.
