A federal judge could sentence Michael Zacharias, who is a priest in the Toledo Catholic Diocese, to a maximum of life in prison, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
WASHINGTON — A Catholic priest in Northwest Ohio is facing a minimum of 15 years in prison after he was convicted by a federal jury of five counts of sex trafficking.in the Toledo Catholic Diocese, to a maximum of life in prison, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
According to prosecutors, Zacharias met his three victims and began grooming them when they were young boys and he was a seminarian at St. Catherine’s Catholic Parish school in Toledo, prosecutors say. He first gained the trust of the boys and their families, but then gradually started sexualizing his conversations with the victims.
The victims testified they submitted to Zacharias because they feared the psychological harm of losing him as a father figure and friend, losing their connection to the Church and God, and suffering from opioid withdrawal if they couldn’t purchase the drugs with money from Zacharias. Prosecutors say the older brother of a victim said he feared Zacharias would sexually abuse his minor brother and others if he did not continue to comply with Zacharias’ requests for sex.
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