Zachary Williams, a 38-year-old resident of Brooklyn, New York, has been sentenced to 240 months in prison for sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl he met through Snapchat. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Omar A. Williams in Hartford.
According to information presented in court, Williams began communicating with the child on Snapchat in February 2021. He coerced her into sending him sexually explicit images and subsequently threatened to share these images online with her family and friends unless she complied with his demands. Under this pressure, the girl agreed to meet Williams in person.
Williams traveled twice to Connecticut during February 2021, where he sexually abused the girl at her home while her family was asleep. He also recorded these acts on his iPhone and used the resulting videos and images to further threaten the victim and prevent her from reporting his conduct.
Williams has been held since March 13, 2021, after being charged in New Jersey for similar child exploitation offenses. He was convicted after trial there and received a life sentence on March 18, 2025.
On August 8, 2025, Williams pleaded guilty in Connecticut federal court to charges of production of child pornography and coercion and enticement of a minor for illegal sexual activity. In addition to his convictions in Connecticut and New Jersey, Williams faces additional child exploitation charges in the Eastern District of New York where he is awaiting trial.
The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Galloway Township Police Department in New Jersey. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nancy V. Gifford, Daniel E. Cummings, and Alexis L. Beyerlein.
United States Attorney David X. Sullivan expressed appreciation for the cooperation from colleagues: “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 prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood Initiative by the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation; more information can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
Reports of suspected child exploitation can be submitted at www.cybertipline.com.
