PETERS TOWNSHIP, Pa. (TNND) — A high schooler in Pennsylvania is facing hundreds of felony sex crime charges after police uncovered a sextortion scheme targeting other teenagers.
Zachariah Abraham Meyers, an 18-year-old senior at Peters Township High School, was arrested on Friday and remains in custody without bail after investigators say he used social media, including TikTok and Snapchat, to lure teens into communicating with him.
Investigators say he then tricked them into sending him compromising photos and videos, accusing Meyers of operating a “large-scale criminal network” and asking victims to “engage in prohibited sexual acts,” NBC News reports.
Meyers reportedly demanded $500 from two of the victims with the promise of not sharing the explicit photos or videos.
According to the criminal complaint, one victim ignored the demands and their sister received an Instagram message with a naked photo of the victim.
Investigators have interviewed 30 underage boys and identified at least 21 victims. Authorities said at least 14 of the teens sent pornographic images and all but one believe they were messaging an “attractive young female,” CBS News reports.
The criminal complaint detailed how Meyers allegedly catfished the teens by pretending to be an adult film star from the Netherlands, as well as a man from Arizona and an unidentified woman.
Meyers is president of his school’s senior class and a student athlete, Pittsburgh news outlet WPXI reports. He was arrested after a search warrant on his home yielded evidence tying him to the sextortion claims.
Meyers was charged with 304 felony counts, including the following:
Peters Township School District told PEOPLE that police believe there is no further risk to students.
“The Police have indicated that there is no immediate safety risk to our schools, and we will continue to cooperate fully with the investigation. The safety and well-being of our students, staff and families remain our highest priority, and we appreciate all the efforts of the Peters Township Police in this matter,” a spokesperson told the outlet.
The disturbing case is putting the spotlight back on the rise of sextortion cases involving minors. In the last few weeks, local and federal officials have issued warnings to parents and children.
In Indiana, Lawrenceburg Police issued a warning on Facebook last week saying that they are seeing several reports of sextortion. Police said there were two cases in a two-week span and others from a few months ago.
Last December, the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced the release of a Public Service Announcement to help parents talk to children as the issue becomes more prevalent.
Parents need to know that they need to have a talk with their children. They need to have a plan in place. They need to tell their child that it’s okay if they come to them,” the PSA said.
On the federal side, the FBI’s Kansas City field office issued a warning saying sextortion cases involving minors are going up at a rapid rate.
“The FBI has seen an increase in financial sextortion where the offender receives sexually explicit material from the child and then threatens to release the material unless the child sends money and/or gift cards,” the field office wrote.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children says reports of financial sextortion involving children jumped from around 10,700 cases in 2022 to more than 26,000 in 2023.
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The National News Desk’s Angela Brown contributed to this report.
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