Zackariah G. Wayland
Zackariah G. Wayland was sentenced to three years in prison by a Rappahannock County CIrcuit Court judge last Thursday.
Explicit messages exchanged with 14-year-old girl
Sperryville resident Zackariah G. Wayland was sentenced to three years in prison by a Rappahannock County Circuit Court judge Thursday after confessing to exchanging sexually explicit messages and images with a 14-year-old girl.
Judge Douglas L. Fleming sentenced Wayland, 32, to serve three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to indecent liberties with a child under 15 years of age and felony violation of parole. Twelve of the 15 years of his jail sentence were suspended, conditional upon five years of supervised probation and good behavior.
Wayland was initially indicted by a grand jury in January on charges of possession of child pornography, solicitation and three counts of felony violation of probation. Commonwealth’s Attorney Art Goff decided not to prosecute the child pornography charge, according to a plea agreement in which the solicitation charge was reduced to indecent liberties with a child under the age of 15.
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According to a criminal complaint filed by Rappahannock Sheriff’s Deputy Chris Ubben on July 29, 2023, Wayland engaged in electronic communication with a girl who identified herself as 14 years of age, solicited her to send him “images of her in various stages of undress” and requested a video of the 14 year old and another minor female, age 16.
According to the complaint, Deputy Ubben was notified about the messages by a “chat group administrator.” After finding out law enforcement was aware of the interaction, the complaint says Wayland acknowledged that the interaction occurred and that he knew the ages of the two girls.
In his written confession, Wayland said “my actions are beyond unforgivable” and expressed remorse. He wrote that he asked the 14 year old to send him photos and videos after she disclosed her age.
“She revieled [sic] she was 14 asking if that was ok. I said yes,” Wayland wrote. According to his confession, the girl asked for payment via Cash App of $10, which he sent, after which he claims the girl tried to blackmail him, telling him she would go to the police if he did not send more money. Wayland wrote that he panicked, and blocked her phone number and Cash App account.
“I begged her not to tell,” Wayland wrote in his confession. “I didn’t want to lose more time with my daughter than I already have from a previous sentence. She threatened me more times. I panicked.”
In 2016, Wayland pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography after leaving his messaging account open, and the mother of his child found explicit photos and conversations with a 16-year-old girl in Indiana, according to a criminal complaint filed in Rappahannock Circuit Court. He was sentenced to five years of suspended jail time and 10 years probation for those charges. He violated his probation by interacting with the 14 year old in the current case, according to court records.
Wayland went on to write in his confession that he has struggled with loneliness since that first charge, and had been seeing a therapist and “turning his life around,” but when his fiance left him, he stopped going. He wrote his past actions “haunt” him daily, and he wants help.
“I just want help to stop my behavior. To stop relapsing and putting my daughter, family, and friends through this,” Wayland wrote. “I know this will not make things better, I just wanted to say I am truly sorry for all I’ve done.”
Here’s how Wayland’s three-year sentence played out in court Thursday:
On the charge of indecent liberties with a minor, the judge suspended eight years of the 10-year sentence. On the three counts of probation violation, he will serve one year of active jail time, with four more years suspended. Wayland’s plea agreement bars him from having contact with any females under the age of 18 unless authorized by court order.
