Springfield man charged with more than 20 crimes, now charged with federal child pornography

A Springfield man facing a slew of charges in Greene County was indicted this week by a federal grand jury on charges of sexually exploiting two children.

Connor Wilson Zacha, 28, was charged Wednesday with using the children to produce child sexual abuse material and taking one child across state lines to engage in criminal sexual activity.

The indictment accuses Zacha of the following:

• Using a girl to produce child sexual abuse material from November 2022 to November 15, 2024;

• Using a second girl to produce child sexual abuse material from October 2023 through April 18;

• Transporting the second girl across state lines for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual activity.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Greene County Sheriff’s Department.

Zacha is in the Greene County Jail. He is being held without bond.

Court documents used to charge Zacha in Greene County said a 17-year-old told detectives she was sexually assaulted by Zacha while she was homeless.

She told detectives that starting at age 16, Zacha told her to “fire” for drugs, including methamphetamine and marijuana.

She said that after a few months she refused and repeatedly woke up to see Zacha performing sex acts on her while she was unconscious. She said Zacha was aware of her age and told her to say she was older if anyone asked.

According to the documents, the teen said Zacha repeatedly physically assaulted her, hitting her on the head or body, and repeatedly threatened to kill her if she left.

The teen told detectives that Zacha had nude photos of her on his phone, along with sexually explicit photos and videos of other women and girls, including one who was 13 or 14 years old. She said he bragged about selling the images online.

Following an undercover operation, Zacha was arrested in late June and another woman was in the vehicle who also told police that Zacha was exchanging sexually explicit images and videos online.

The Springfield Fire Department’s bomb squad was called to where Zacha was staying, not far from a daycare center and Westport Elementary and Middle School, after a suspicious device was discovered during a search. According to court documents, it was confirmed to be an “explosive weapon.”

The search also turned up multiple firearms, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, four laptops and suspected marijuana and methamphetamine.

In an interview, Zacha said he started using marijuana at age 12 and had been using methamphetamine for several years.

Zacha’s electronic devices were searched and once evidence of child pornography was discovered, they were submitted for a digital forensic analysis.

According to online court records, Zacha was arrested in June 2023 and is facing a slew of charges in Greene County, including rape, statutory rape, sodomy, abuse or neglect of a child, endangering the welfare of a child, kidnapping, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a controlled substance, child pornography, distribution of a controlled substance in a protected location, delivery of marijuana or synthetic cannabinoid to a person under 17 years of age, unlawful use of a weapon and sexual exploitation of a minor. There were multiple counts of some of the misdemeanor charges.

Zacha is expected to appear in court in Greene County in January.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: SGF man faces more than two dozen charges now charged at the federal level