Peters Township High School senior charged with running criminal network to abuse, exploit minors
Peters Township High School senior charged with running criminal network to abuse, exploit minors
A Peter’s Township High School senior was just arrested and charged with operating a criminal network involving “catfishing” and “sextortion.”
18-year-old Zachariah Meyers, who is reportedly president of the senior class and a Peter’s Township athlete, is accused of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of more than 20 underage victims.
Channel 11’s Cara Sapida was the only reporter in the courtroom Friday as Meyers faced a judge.
Sapida reports the teenager will be held without bail, as the judge called Meyers a “danger to the community.”
We will have breaking details and reaction from the community starting tonight on Channel 11 News at 6 p.m.
Online court records show Meyers is facing more than 300 felony charges.
According to the criminal complaint, Peters Township police first became aware of the reported criminal network on Dec. 5.
Officers interviewed 30 underage boys and identified at least 21 victims. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 17.
Police say the victims all reported being victimized over social media platforms like Snapchat and TikTok.
Meyers used several different accounts that used images of other people, including an adult film performer from the Netherlands who is not believed to be involved in the network, police say.
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The victims reportedly believed they were communicating with an attractive young woman.
The victims told police that the criminal activity included solicitation of nude images, production of pornographic videos and videotaping private areas of Peters Township High School.
At least 14 victims sent pornographic material of themselves, and at least one sent videos of a private area in the high school. One victim claimed he was coerced into having sex on two occasions with different adult men.
One victim sent numerous nude photographs to Meyers, police say. When he stopped, Meyers reportedly told him, “I need smth (sic) to keep my silence.”
That’s when police say Meyers coerced him into having sex with two adult men and videotaping the encounters.
Also, a victim secretly videotaped the Peters Township High School wrestling locker room at Meyers’ direction six different times. The videos reportedly captured about ten different underage boys in various states of undress, as well as their conversations.
Meyers sent a victim an explicit photo of another victim and told him to join Grindr and have sex with him, police say.
Peters Township police say they were granted numerous search warrants and court orders for social media content, which ultimately led them to Meyers.
Meyers was taken into custody on Friday. Evidence on Meyers’ phone connected him with the criminal activity, the complaint says.
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