A gay couple from Georgia, William Zulock, 34 and Zachary Zulock, 36, were sentenced to 100 years imprisonment without the possibility of parole for committing heinous sexual offences against their adopted sons, according to the Walton County District Attorney‘s office.
“These two Defendants truly created a house of horrors and put their extremely dark desires above everything and everyone else,” District Attorney Randy McGinley told WSB-TV.
“However, the depth of the Defendants’ depravity, which is as deep as it gets, is not greater than the resolve of those that fought for justice and the strength of the victims in this case. The resolve I have seen from these two young victims over the last two years is truly inspiring,” he added, the New York Post reported.
The victims, two brothers now aged 12 and 10, were adopted through a Christian special-needs organization. The couple presented a facade of a loving family, residing in an affluent Atlanta suburb. Zachary worked in banking, while William held a government job, maintaining an outward image of normalcy.
Behind closed doors, the couple subjected the boys to regular sexual abuse, compelling them to engage in sexual acts and recording the incidents to produce pedophilic pornography. The abuse reportedly began when the children were merely three and five years old.
Evidence indicates Zachary boasted about the abuse to friends. A friend told police Zachary sent a Snapchat message saying, “I’m going to f–k my son tonight. Stand by,” along with images of the boy being abused.
They allegedly utilised social media platforms to exploit the boys by connecting with at least two other individuals in a local abuse network.
When authorities initially searched their luxurious Atlanta suburban residence, they examined two weeks of interior surveillance footage, which revealed abuse occurring in several areas of the house.
The couple was arrested in 2022 after an alleged member of the ring was caught downloading child porn, and he told the investigators how the Zulocks were making porn with young boys living in their house.
Authorities were alerted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding suspicious material uploaded to a Google account traced to a Walton County address.
Following a warranted search, investigators discovered over seven terabytes of digital evidence, including surveillance footage and mobile data containing graphic images, videos and text messages discussing the abuse, the Daily Mail reported.
During questioning, both individuals acknowledged years of abuse against their sons, whom they had adopted in 2018 through a now-closed Christian agency.
Both Zulocks entered guilty pleas to charges including aggravated child molestation, aggravated sodomy, and sexual exploitation of children.
Previously, Zachary had faced accusations of assaulting another child in 2011. Although reported, prosecutors did not pursue the case sufficiently to file charges.