Crime & Safety
Child Pornography Case Leads To Conviction Of McLean Man
Prosecutors say the defendant asked minors to record sexually explicit videos of themselves, and he kept other files showing sexual abuse.
MCLEAN, VA — A McLean man was convicted Wednesday in federal court for producing, receiving, and possessing child pornography.
Prosecutors say Zackary Ellis Sanders, 26, had sexual conversations with at least six minors over mobile messaging platforms. He asked five of minors to engage in sexually explicit and self-harming acts, record themselves, and send the videos to him. He also received a video of a sixth minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Evidence recovered from multiple laptops and thumb drives in his bedroom found images and videos of sexual abuse of other children. One of the videos showed sexual abuse of a toddler and other young children as well as young children subject to sadistic acts. These images came from a Darkweb website intended to share that type of material.
Find out what's happening in McLeanfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
A federal jury convicted Sanders of production, receipt, and possession of child pornography. He will be sentenced on March 4, 2022 and faces up to 15 years in prison.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
