A California man faces 707 years in prison after molesting several boys ages 2 to 14.
Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, 34, was convicted last month on 34 counts. He was arrested in 2019 after one of his victims reported him to the police.
According to the public prosecutor’s office, the man, who acted as a child care provider, committed his sexual crimes between 2014 and 2019, leaving 17 victims.
Other potential victims also testified before the jury, said deputy public prosecutor Juliet Oliver to the ABC7 news channel.
“Zakrzewski called himself “The original Sitter Buddy” on his website, where he also referred to himself as “Manny,” offering a variety of child care services including mentoring, big brother relationships, and overnight and holiday child care,” said The Orange County District Attorney’s Office said this in a press release.
Several parents admitted that they felt guilty for leaving their children in the company of this man. This is the case of a mother who said she took her son to the doctor for ulcers. When the doctor asked her if the little one had any sources of stress in his life, she answered “no” because she didn’t know what he was going through at the time.
“I didn’t know, but now I know. I will feel guilty for the rest of my life for letting this animal into my life,” she said, adding that she only hired a babysitter once.
For his part, prosecutor Todd Spitzer believes that Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski “stole the childhood” and “destroyed the innocence” of his 17 victims.
“Children aren’t born knowing how to lie, but this master manipulator taught these very young children how to lie – and keep secrets from their own parents. Child sexual exploitation aims to destroy the smallest of souls, and this monster disguised as smiles and laughter has carried out the most horrific and calculated manipulations to ensure that it continues to have unfettered access to what these parents value most “Our hearts lie: their children,” he emphasized.