A 20-year-old Camas man who’s been under investigation for child pornography and online child exploitation since December is facing more allegations in a fifth case.
Zachary William Akers already has four pending cases related to the investigation and appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court on new allegations: second-degree possessing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, two counts of second-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, second-degree viewing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of cyberstalking and communicating with a minor for immoral purposes.
He will be arraigned in the new case April 28.
The prosecution said investigators have identified six victims so far. The ages of the victims range from 14 to 16 years old, and the most recent victim identified by police lives in Massachusetts, court records show.
Akers allegedly befriended several underage girls on Facebook, then threatened to expose private messages and compromising photos he had received unless they agreed to send lewd photos and videos to him, or to meet him to have sex, according to the Vancouver Police Department.
He used his name and a fake profile name to solicit the victims, police said. In some cases, he lied about his age, saying he was 16, and sent images of child pornography he had obtained to others over the Internet, according to court documents.
Looking for ‘revenge’
In an interview with detectives, Akers said he is interested in girls who are about 15 years old, and doesn’t like girls his age or older than him, court documents said. Akers also said he gets angry when he feels a girl has lied or betrayed him in some way, even if he doesn’t know her well. He lashes out by sharing text message exchanges and nude photos of the girls, he said, as a form of “revenge,” according to court documents.
Akers has been in custody at the Clark County Jail since Jan. 5, booking records show.
Between the four other cases, Akers is charged with a total of 27 counts: first-degree possessing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, second-degree possessing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, two counts of second-degree viewing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, four counts of second-degree dealing in depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, two counts of possessing depictions of a minor engaged in sexual conduct, five counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of commercial sex abuse of a minor, two counts of cyberstalking, one count of second-degree rape, one count of third-degree child rape and one count of second-degree extortion with sexual motivation.
On Thursday, Judge David Gregerson ordered Akers be held on an additional $25,000 bail, for a total of $200,000 bail.
