INDIANAPOLIS- Zachary Nichols, 31, of Newton, Illinois, has been sentenced to 42 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, after pleading 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.
Nichols, an active user of methamphetamine, began a romantic relationship with a relative of the 11-year-old child. Starting in 2016, Nichols groomed, raped, and recorded the child for years, supplying the child with the drug to facilitate some of the abuse.
The child was nearly incapacitated due to drug use in some of the child sex abuse material Nichols created. On multiple occasions, Nichols forced the child to engage in sexual conduct with his drug dealer, Dustin Cox, a registered sex offender. Cox has been charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Child and Conspiracy to Sexually Exploit a Child in a related case.
Nichols received drugs in exchange for bringing the child to be sexually abused by Cox. A court-authorized search of Nichols’ phone and Google account revealed multiple image and video files depicting Nichols sexually abusing the child. The FBI and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigated this case.
U.S. District Court Judge James R. Sweeney II imposed the sentence and ordered Nichols to pay $20,000 in restitution to the victim. The sentence was a result of the dedication of the team at the FBI, law enforcement partners, and federal prosecutors.
“For years, Zachary Nichols sexually abused a child entrusted in his care in the most horrific of ways,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “There is no place in a civilized society for men like this.”
Nichols’ sentence is a stark reminder of the severity of his crimes and the gravity of his actions. As part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse, Nichols will now face the consequences of his heinous actions.
Related Federal Cases
- 31-Year-Old Illinois Man Gets 42 Years for Drugging, Raping Child · Illinois
- Indiana Man Indicted in Child Exploitation Case · Illinois
- Carnival Predator Coetzee Gets 10 Years · Wisconsin
- Boonville Man Guilty in Child Porn Case · Illinois
- Belleville Predator Gets 21+ Years for Child Exploitation · Illinois
Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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