New sex trafficking allegations filed against former priest

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December 19TOLEDO Federal prosecutors late last week filed a new set of charges against a Findlay Roman Catholic priest who was originally charged more than two years ago with numerous sex trafficking offenses.

A superseding indictment was filed Dec. 15 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against Michael J. Zacharias after a federal grand jury found probable cause to believe the former priest had “by force, fraud and coercion…knowingly recruited, instigated, harbored, transported, furnished or procured” three separate victims under the age of 18 to engage in a commercial sex act.

The alleged offenses allegedly occurred between July 2005 and August 2020.

The superseding indictment also includes a specification for forfeiture upon conviction of certain property belonging to Zacharias, including a cell phone, several laptops, numerous floppy disks and SD cards, VHS tapes and USB drives.

Zacharias is expected to be arraigned on the new charges via a remote hearing at 9 a.m. Tuesday before U.S. District Court Judge Jack Zouhary. A jury trial scheduled for February 6 has been postponed.

A federal grand jury originally indicted Zacharias, 56, in August 2020 on one count of sex trafficking a minor, two counts of sex trafficking a minor by force, fraud, or coercion, and seven counts of trafficking sexual abuse of an adult by force, fraud or coercion. Five counts relating to adult trafficking were dismissed by prosecutors in August 2021.

Zacharias had been a pastor at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Findlay since 2017 at the time of his arrest and had previously served as a pastor at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Van Wert, where at least some of the sexual acts were allegedly summer took place, according to the federal indictment. Bishop Daniel Thomas placed Zacharias on administrative leave following the arrest.

According to court documents, Zacharias engaged in the sex trafficking of minors and adults while enrolled as a seminarian and employed as a priest at various religious institutions in the Northern District of Ohio and elsewhere. He is accused of using his position of trust to seek out underage victims and guide them into performing sexual acts. Additionally, he is accused of using his victims’ drug addiction to coerce them into performing commercial sex acts.

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