Ohio Catholic priest gets life sentence for sex-trafficking convictions

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest has received a life sentence for his convictions on five counts related to sex-trafficking charges in the molestation of three boys who prosecutors say he met at an Ohio preschool and coerced to continue sexual activity as adults. Rev. Michael Zacharias was sentenced Friday. Prosecutors have said Zacharias “paid the victims to engage in sex acts with him using the victims’ fear of serious harm to compel their compliance.” Zacharias has maintained his innocence, saying none of the sexual contact occurred when the boys were minors and that any sexual contact after they became adults was consensual.