Zachary Williams, a 38-year-old resident of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to 240 months in prison for crimes involving the sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl he met through Snapchat. The sentencing was delivered by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford.
According to information presented in court, Williams began communicating with the minor on Snapchat in February 2021. He groomed her and coerced her into sending sexually explicit images of herself. After obtaining these images, Williams threatened to post them online where her family and friends could see them, using this as leverage to pressure her into meeting him for a sexual encounter. On two occasions that month, Williams traveled to Connecticut and sexually abused the girl at her home while her family was asleep. He recorded these acts on his iPhone and continued to use the videos and images to threaten the victim so she would not reveal his actions.
Williams has been held since March 13, 2021, after being charged in the District of New Jersey with similar child exploitation offenses. He was convicted after trial and sentenced on March 18, 2025, to life imprisonment.
On August 8, 2025, Williams pleaded guilty in the District of Connecticut to one count of production of child pornography and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct.
He also faces child exploitation charges in the Eastern District of New York and is awaiting trial there.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Galloway Township Police Department in New Jersey. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nancy V. Gifford, Daniel E. Cummings, and Alexis L. Beyerlein prosecuted the case.
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut stated: "U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this case."
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood Initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice which aims to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation (https://www.justice.gov/psc). Individuals can report cases of child exploitation at www.cybertipline.com.
