MARQUETTE, MI— A Virginia man has been sentenced in federal court for sexually exploiting a Marquette County child in 2012.
U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, Timothy VerHey, says Erich Zeeb, 51, was sentenced Thursday to 28 years in prison.
Zeeb met the victim—who was 15 years old at the time—online. He presented himself to the victim and her parents as an Olympian-in-training and someone who could help the victim with her own Olympic aspirations. He then used that access to persuade her to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing videos of her.
Zeeb was indicted last year on three counts of sexual exploitation of a child.
During the investigation, law enforcement received credible accounts of similar exploitation and abuse by Zeeb involving additional girls and young women.
