A child care service provider from Costa Mesa, Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, was found guilty on Tuesday of sexually abusing 16 boys, aged 2 to 14. He was also charged with showing child pornography to another victim. The Orange County Superior Court jury convicted Zakrzewski on 34 felony sex charges involving 17 victims. These crimes occurred between 2014 and 2019. The jury, deliberating on Tuesday morning, quickly reached their verdicts, before lunch. The jury also acknowledged the sentencing enhancements for multiple victims.
The trial also presented evidence relating to two other boys, one of whom was allegedly molested. However, the defendant was not charged in relation to those particular victims, according to Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver.
Zakrzewski is facing a potential prison sentence of 690 years to life. His sentencing is scheduled for November 17.
During the trial’s closing argument, Oliver highlighted a pedophilia book titled “Hunting Season” found on Zakrzewski’s computer. Oliver stated, “The entire book is in defendant’s hard drive… He was hunting every family in this case… He wasn’t just reading the book, he could have written the book.” Oliver also mentioned that the defendant recorded much of the evidence against him.
Oliver described Zakrzewski as “brazen” and referenced videos showing the defendant “caressing” one victim to “normalize” the molestation. Another video allegedly captures Zakrzewski engaging in a sexual act with a boy in his lap. After he finishes, the defendant allegedly said, “Thank you.” Oliver emphasized the severity of the evidence.
With one of the boys, Zakrzewski played a game he called “rocket ship” while the victim sat on his lap. He then stated, “It feels like we’re having sex.” Oliver emphasized that all of these incidents were recorded.
Oliver told the jury that none of the parents or children involved knew each other. She portrayed Zakrzewski as a manipulative mastermind, gaining the trust of each family to protect their children. She called the situation every parent’s worst nightmare.
According to Oliver, Zakrzewski promoted his work with children with behavioral disabilities and advertised his many years of experience, CPR training, and background checks. The victims were mostly between the ages of 6 and 9, according to the prosecutor.
Jennifer Ryan from the Orange County Public Defender’s Office argued that some of the charges against Zakrzewski, related to showing pornography and directing a dog to perform a sexual act, lacked evidence. She cautioned the jury to consider each charge separately and emphasized that running around in underwear or shorts is not against the law.
Oliver countered that there was a substantial volume of videos that investigators had not even reviewed. She urged the jury not to be swayed by the defendant’s arguments, stating that Zakrzewski deserved to be found guilty on all 34 charges.
Denial of responsibility! Vigour Times is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
