Man engaged in sex acts with 13-year-old, then watched her take Plan B, feds in NJ say
A New York man convicted of traveling to New Jersey to engage in sex acts with a 13-year-old is headed to prison, federal prosecutors said.
Zachary Williams, now 37 of New York City, was sentenced to life behind bars after being convicted of multiple charges in a roughly three-week trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey said in a March 18 news release.
McClatchy News reached out to his attorney March 19 and was awaiting a response.
Williams was 33 years old, posing as a 17-year-old, when he met the child through a social media app in 2020, prosecutors said. He asked her for nude photos and then “began to ‘sextort’” her after she sent some, threatening to release the photos if she didn’t meet up with him, according to a court filing.
Williams then traveled from New York to New Jersey, where he rented a hotel room and engaged in sex acts with the 13-year-old, prosecutors said.
“Afterward, Williams provided (her) with an emergency contraceptive ‘Plan B’ pill and made her take the pill in front of him,” according to the court filing.
Williams let the 13-year-old delete the nude photos from his phone during their meet-up, but then continued to threaten her with them later, prosecutors said.
He was arrested in a 2021 sting operation in which law enforcement lured him back to the New Jersey hotel by pretending to be the 13-year-old, prosecutors said.
“Williams’ phone contained numerous images of child pornography, which have led to the identification of additional child victims in both the Eastern District of New York and the District of Connecticut where additional charges remain pending against Williams,” prosecutors said.
In New Jersey, Williams was convicted of two counts of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, plus coercion and enticement of a minor, as well as production of and possession of child pornography, according to prosecutors.
He was sentenced to life on the coercion and enticement charge, plus received additional concurrent prison time on the other charges, prosecutors said.
He requested a new trial but was denied, court records show.
U.S. Attorney John Giordano described him as “a callous sexual predator whose crimes against children were especially cruel” and said “the court’s imposed sentence will forever protect our children from further abuse by Williams,” the release said.
This story was originally published March 19, 2025 at 1:50 PM with the headline "Man engaged in sex acts with 13-year-old, then watched her take Plan B, feds in NJ say."
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