A Bellevue man who pleaded guilty to importuning has been sentenced to jail.
Zakori W. Satava, 30, appeared Thursday in the courtroom of Wood County Common Pleas Judge Joel Kuhlman.
Satava was indicted in January for importuning and two counts of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, all fifth-degree felonies.
In May, he pleaded guilty to importuning and one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles.
The second count of disseminating matter was dismissed.
“He’s expressed to me he feels regret and shame, embarrassment and remorse,” said defense attorney Christopher Lawrence.
He added that his client has no adult criminal record, worked and lived in Virginia Beach, Virginia, but gave that up to address these charges.
As a military veteran, Satava is getting VA services he will lose with a lengthy jail term, Lawrence said.
He asked Kuhlman to not follow the presumption for prison that comes with the importuning charge and asked for a sentence of community control.
“I’m very remorseful for what actions that I took,” Satava said. “I’m embarrassed. I apologize.”
Wood County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Pamela Gross said a detective was posing as 15-year-old female on the Whisper app. Satava joined the communication and it escalated to pictures and video of a sexual nature, Gross said.
From Feb. 22-March 23, 2022, Satava recklessly solicited another by means of a telecommunication device to engage in sexual activity while at least four years older than the victim.
During that time and again March 7, 2022, he offered to sell, deliver or furnish material or performance that was obscene to the person he believed was 15 years old.
Gross recommended community control with a jail term.
Kuhlman imposed a 28-day local jail sentence followed by three years on community control.
Satava is to have no unsupervised contact with anyone under the age of 16, no unsupervised internet usage, and no social or dating app usage.
He will have to register as a Tier I sex offender, which will require him to register annually for 15 years.
