Ad Peshtigo man pleads Guilty to Federal Child Sexual Exploitation and faces 26 other counts

24-year-old Zachary Zastawniak, of Peshtigo, entered a plea of guilty to a federal child sexual exploitation charge on May 31^st. Court records obtained by Bay Cities Radio indicate that Zastawniak faced charges in Federal court for enticing a minor to send him a sexually explicit photo and for attempting to persuade another victim to do the same thing. Zastawniak also faces 26 felony charges in state court, included child enticement, soliciting a child for prostitution and sexual assault. A pre-trial conference is scheduled for Friday, June 14^th, in Oconto County Circuit Court. The 26 charges against Zastawniak in Oconto County include the use of a computer to facilitate a child sex crime, soliciting a child for prostitution, second degree sexual assault of a child trafficking of a child, felony bail jumping, threats to communicate derogatory information and many charges involving possession of child pornography. In a Brown County case dating back to 2018, Zastawniak, then 17-years-old, was given a deferred sentence of two years or probation after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation. A deferred prosecution agreement hearing on those charges is scheduled for 9:45am in the Brown County Courthouse, Room 330. In January, Gregory J. Haanstad, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced regarding the more recent Federal court proceedings that a two-count indictment had been returned by a federal grand jury. The indictment alleges that Zastawniak sexually exploited or attempted to sexually exploit two minors. According to the indictment, on or about July 7th, 2023, and again on August 23, 2023, Zastawniak knowingly employed, used, persuaded, induced, and coerced two minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for producing a visual depiction of the victims engaged in a lascivious exhibition of their genitals.