A priest that formally worked in Van Wert and Findlay was arraigned on new charges of sex trafficking in federal court. Michael Zacharias was indicted on five charges of sex trafficking. There were 3 victims in total, two of the charges were when the victims were under the age of 18 at the time of the offense. These charges replace the ones that he had when he was arrested in 2020. He pleaded not guilty to all of the new charges last week.Â
The initial indictment says there were at least two victims the priest met while he was in the seminary, both minors at a catholic school in Toledo. The alleged incidents started in 1999 and went until 2020.
The indictment claims the victims had drug problems which Zacharias exploited for sexual favors over 20 years. He was arrested while he was serving in Findlay by FBI agents in August of 2020. A trial date was scheduled for February of 2023.
