Illinois offender sentenced to 42 years in prison for sexually abusing a small child for years and drugging him with methamphetamine

Nichols was an active methamphetamine user and supplied the child with the drug to facilitate the sexual abuse.

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INDIANAPOLIS – Zachary Nichols, 31, of Newton, Illinois, was sentenced to 42 years in a federal prison followed by life probation after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of condoning or aiding and abetting the sexual exploitation of a child by a parent or guardian.

According to court documents, Zachary Nichols had a romantic relationship with a relative of an 11-year-old child. Beginning in 2016 at the latest, Nichols began sexually abusing the child and documenting the abuse. Nichols groomed the child, sexually abused her, and raped her for years while documenting and photographing the abuse.

Nichols was an active methamphetamine user and supplied the child with the drug to facilitate some of the sexual abuse incidents. The child is virtually incapacitated due to the use of the drug in some of the child abuse materials created by Nichols. Nichols continued to supply the child with methamphetamine into the victim’s teenage years.

On several occasions, Nichols forced the child to perform sexual acts with Dustin Cox on camera. Cox was Nichols’ drug dealer and was also a registered sex offender at the time. Nichols received drugs in exchange for bringing the child to Cox so he could be sexually abused. Cox has been charged with sexual exploitation of a child and conspiracy to sexually exploit a child in a related case. Cox has entered a plea agreement, and the guilty plea and sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.

On August 25, 2022, Nichols was arrested in Illinois. A court-ordered search of his phone and Google account revealed several image and video files showing Nichols sexually abusing the child.

The FBI and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department investigated this case. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II. Judge Sweeney also ordered Nichols to pay $20,000 in restitution to the victim.

“For years, Zachary Nichols sexually abused a child entrusted to his care in the most gruesome way: he was so depraved that he traded his victim’s body for meth and forced the drug on the innocent child. Nichols inflicted the worst childhood trauma imaginable, and the injuries will stay with the victim for a lifetime,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “There is no place for men like him in a civilized society. Thanks to the talent and dedication of the FBI team, our law enforcement partners, and our federal prosecutor, children will be safe from this man for many, many years to come.”

“This sentence clearly demonstrates the severity of the defendant’s heinous acts and ensures that he will spend many years behind bars and will not be able to commit such a crime against another child,” said Herbert J. Stapleton, special agent in charge of the FBI in Indianapolis. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively pursue and hold accountable those who commit these crimes.”

U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany J. Preston, who prosecuted this case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood pools federal, state, and local resources to better find, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children over the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.