INDIANAPOLIS – Zachary Nichols, 31, of Newton, Illinois, has landed a 42-year sentence in federal prison for years of brutal child abuse, including drugging and raping an 11-year-old child.
Nichols pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of permitting or assisting by a parent or guardian in the sexual exploitation of a child. Court documents reveal Nichols had a romantic relationship with a relative of the child, beginning in at least 2016. Nichols’ abuse spanned years, with him recording and taking photos of the child’s abuse.
Nichols, an active user of methamphetamine, supplied the child with the drug to facilitate some of the abuse. The child was nearly incapacitated due to drug use in some of the abuse material Nichols created. Nichols continued supplying the child with methamphetamine well into the victim’s teenage years.
In addition to his own abuse, Nichols forced the child to engage in sexual conduct with Dustin Cox, Nichols’ drug dealer and a registered sex offender. Nichols received drugs in exchange for bringing the child to be abused by Cox. Cox has been charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Conspiracy to Sexually Exploit a child in a related case.
A court-authorized search of Nichols’ phone and Google account revealed multiple image and video files depicting Nichols’ abuse of the child. The FBI and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case, with U.S. District Court Judge James R. Sweeney II imposing the sentence.
Nichols must also pay $20,000 in restitution to the victim. U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers condemned Nichols’ actions, stating, “For years, Zachary Nichols sexually abused a child entrusted in his care in the most horrific of ways: so utterly depraved he traded his victim’s body for meth and pushed the drug on the innocent child.”
FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton added, “This sentence clearly demonstrates the gravity of the defendant’s heinous actions and ensures he will be behind bars for years to come and unable to perpetrate such depravity on another child.”
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Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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