When you send your kids to school, particularly high school, you hope they make solid friendships, get a good education, and find their way, even if they may be tested in ways that will build their character. One thing you could never predict is one of their peers taking advantage of them in a dangerous and criminal manner. Such was the case for some high school students in Pennsylvania. An 18-year-old is facing hundreds of felony sex crime charges after police uncovered a “sextortion” scheme he allegedly used to target minors.
Zachariah Abraham Meyers, a high school senior at Peters Township High School in McMurray, Pennsylvania, was arrested on February 20, 2026, after authorities accused him of running a massive “catfishing” and “sextortion” scheme involving over 20 underage victims, per NBC News.
According to the news outlet, Meyers faces more than 300 felony counts of trafficking in minors, sexual extortion, corruption of minors, intercept communications, child sexual abuse material, unlawful contact with a minor, sexual exploitation of children, and criminal use of communication facility.
The high school student remains in custody without bail after investigators found that he used social media, including TikTok and Snapchat, to “lure teens into communicating with him,” TNND reported. Police state that Meyers was able to “catfish” some of the minors on social media “by pretending to be an adult film star from the Netherlands,” according to CBS News Pittsburgh.
A criminal complaint alleges that Meyers instructed juveniles “to produce and disseminate explicit images and videos of themselves,” per NBC News. The 18-year-old is also said to have requested them to “engage in prohibited sexual acts,” and allegedly demanded $500 from two of the victims in exchange for him not sharing the explicit materials.
Things went even further, according to the criminal complaint, when one of the teens ignored Meyers’ demands and the teen’s sister was sent an Instagram message with a naked photo of the victim, TNND reported.
Peters Township police said they have spoken to roughly 30 juvenile males and identified at least 21 boys ranging from 14 to 17 years old, per CBS News Pittsburgh.
Investigators have seized Meyer’s phone and found evidence that ties him to the social media accounts that victimized the minors, CBS News Pittsburgh reported. Peters Township police noted that this case serves as a good reminder that “as a parent you can never be too careful or too interested in your child’s online activity.”
We hope every young person who was victimized receives the help and care they deserve.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
