Man Accused Of Traveling To NJ To Have Sex With Minor: Feds

CAMDEN, NJ — A New York man was charged with traveling to Atlantic County to have sex with a minor, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced Tuesday.

Zachary Williams, 33, of New York, has been charged by complaint with one count of interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

Williams was arrested on March 13, 2021, after traveling a second time from New York to New Jersey to meet a minor, authorities said. He is scheduled to appear March 16 by videoconference before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, Williams met the minor victim via SnapChat in September 2020. Williams lied about his age and told the victim that he was 17 years old.

Williams asked the minor for nude photographs of the victim and after receiving them, authorities said he began to “sextort” the minor by threatening to send photographs to the victim’s friends and family.

Authorities said Williams convinced the victim to meet him at a hotel in Atlantic County and agreed to allow the victim to delete the photographs from Williams’ phone. On Oct. 2, 2020, Williams traveled to a hotel in Atlantic County and two days later, had sex with the victim in his hotel room.

Williams continued to send messages threatening to expose the victim’s photographs, and when the victim would block him, he opened new social media accounts to continue to harass the victim, including “IWILLHURTYOU Iwilll_h2021,” “IWILLGETTHESWITCHBACK” and “Makeadealormomfindsout.”

Authorities said law enforcement officers took over the victim’s social media accounts in March 2021 and began communicating with Williams while posing as the victim. During those communications, Williams arranged to travel on March 13, 2021 to the same Atlantic County hotel to again have sex with the victim. Law enforcement arrested Williams as he arrived at the hotel.

Williams was charged with interstate travel to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. If convicted of this offense, Williams faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, and lifetime supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., in Newark, and Galloway Township police, under the direction of Chief Donna A. Higbee. She also thanked the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office for its assistance with the investigation leading to the charges.

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