Michael Jude Zacharias (Hancock County Sheriff’s Office)
A Roman Catholic priest in northern Ohio is facing a life sentence after being found guilty of multiple charges of child sex trafficking.
A federal jury on Friday found the Reverend Michael Jude Zacharias guilty of one count of sex trafficking a minor, two counts of sex trafficking a minor by force, fraud or coercion, and two counts of trafficking adult sexual abuse by force, fraud or coercion, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show.
“This defendant has betrayed the victims in the most inhuman way,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement after the verdict. “He robbed them of their childhood, their dignity and their faith. He inflicted cruel psychological harm, preying on their fears and forcing them to choose between submitting to commercial sex acts or suffering the pain of losing a father figure or counselor, suffering a withdrawal illness and risking death. sexually abusing a loved one.
According to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, the charges against Zacharias stem from the fact that he paid at least three victims to engage in sexual acts with him. him by taking advantage of the victims’ “fear of serious injury” to force them into submission. over fifteen years. Prosecutors say Zacharias trafficked two of the victims when they were minors as well as when they were adults.
During the federal trial, jurors were presented with evidence showing that Zacharias met his victims when he was a seminarian at St. Catherine’s Catholic Parish in Toledo, when the victims were only young children.
Zacharias groomed the children for commercial sex acts “using his position as a priest and teacher to ingratiate himself with the boys and their families as a trusted friend, mentor and spiritual advisor,” prosecutors wrote. He managed to overcome victims’ resistance to his possible commercial sexual overtures by “gradually sexualizing conversations and conduct with them.”
As Zacharias “sexualized” the youths, the victims simultaneously developed opioid addictions which later turned into heroin addictions. Knowing that the victims were all heavy drug users, Zacharias waited until they had almost hit rock bottom before he began to pitch the idea of engaging in commercial sex acts, prosecutors said.
Each of the victims spoke during the trial and explained how they eventually gave in to Zacharias’ commercial sexual solicitations because they “feared the psychological harm of losing Zacharias as a father figure and friend, of losing their connection to the Church and God, and suffering from the painful symptoms of opioid withdrawal that could be alleviated with money provided by Zacharias to buy medicine,” the statement read.
Two of the victims were also brothers. The older brother told the jury that he feared that if he did not comply with Zacharias’ solicitations for the sex trade, the priest would sexually abuse his underage brother.
“The defendant not only abused his victims, but also betrayed the trust placed in him by the congregation and those who dutifully serve parishes across the country,” said Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen of the field office. FBI in Cleveland.
The date for Zacharias’ sentencing hearing has not yet been set. He faces a maximum federal sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. It will also be legally bound to pay compensation to the victims.
Do you have a tip we should know? [email protected]
