A man from New York is facing life in prison after investigators found he talked to a teen girl online and then traveled to the Jersey Shore to meet her and had sex with her.
In September of 202, Zachary Williams, 37, met a 13-year-old New Jersey girl on the online photo sharing platform Snapchat and lied about his age by telling her he was just 17 when he was 33 at the time.
During their conversation, Williams is accused of asking her for nude photographs and then threatened to send the pictures to her family and friends.
At one point, Williams talked the girl into meeting him at a hotel in Atlantic County to let her delete the nude photos of herself off of his phone.
Then, on Oct. 20, 2020, Williams went to the hotel in Atlantic County and "engaged in sexual intercourse" with the girl two days later in the hotel room.
Following this, Williams continued to threaten that he would share her nude photographs despite their agreement.
In March of 2021, law enforcement officials conducted a sting operation where they pretended to be the young girl and convinced Williams to return to the Atlantic County hotel.
Williams was arrested as a result of this operation and when investigators reviewed his phone, they found several images of child pornography that showed more child-aged victims in both New York and Connecticut, officials said.
Williams has been convicted 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.
“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.”
