TOLEDO — Michael Zacharias, a former Catholic priest charged with sex trafficking offenses that included minors and adults at several locations throughout Northwest Ohio, was found guilty on all counts Friday by jurors in the U.S. District Court for Northern Ohio.

Zacharias was indicted in August 2020 one count of sex trafficking of a minor, two counts of sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud or coercion, and seven counts of sex trafficking of an adult by force, fraud or coercion. A superceding indictment removed all but five of the counts.

Zacharias had been the pastor at St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Findlay since 2017 at the time of his arrest and had previously served as pastor at St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church in Van Wert, where at least some of the sexual acts allegedly took place, according to the federal indictment.

The charges related to three victims, two of whom Zacharias trafficked when they were minors and as adults. The evidence presented to the jury detailed how Zacharias paid the victims to engage in sex acts with him using the victims’ fear of serious harm to compel their compliance, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the department’s Civil Rights Division said the victims’ testimony explained how they submitted to Zacharias’ commercial sex solicitations because they feared the psychological harm of losing Zacharias as a father figure and friend, losing their connection to the church and God, and suffering the painful symptoms of opioid withdrawal that could be alleviated with the money provided by Zacharias to purchase drugs. One victim — the older brother of another victim — explained how he feared Zacharias would sexually abuse his minor brother and others if he did not continue to comply with the defendant’s commercial sex solicitations.

“This defendant betrayed the victims in the most inhumane way,” Clarke said. “He robbed them of their childhood, their dignity and their faith. He inflicted cruel psychological harm, preying on their fears and forcing them to choose between submitting to commercial sex acts, or incurring the pain of losing a father figure or counselor, suffering withdrawal sickness, and risking sexual abuse of a loved one. The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute human trafficking crimes to hold offenders like Michael Zacharias accountable and bring justice to their victims.”

Bishop Daniel Thomas of the Diocese of Toledo, who had placed Zacharias on administrative leave on Aug. 18, 2020 immediately following his arrest, said in a statement released Friday that the diocese fully cooperated with law enforcement throughout this process.

Thomas said that with the conclusion of the federal trial and the conviction of Zacharias, the diocese is now free to address this matter according to Canon (church) law. The case will be presented to the Holy See who will make the final judgment, which will lead to a determination of Zacharias’ status as a priest, he said.

“The acts of which Rev. Michael Zacharias has been found guilty are reprehensible, morally deplorable, and manifestly contrary to the dignity due to each human person and the dignity of the priesthood,” the bishop said in the statement. “The church cannot and will not tolerate any such behavior and takes any sexual abuse or misconduct on the part of a cleric with the utmost seriousness. … Our society and church together must bring evil into the light, wherever it is found.”