A California male nanny smirked as he was jailed for 707 years for molesting more than a dozen young boys in his care.
Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski was convicted of sexually assaulting 16 boys aged two to 14, as well as showing another child pornography last month.
The 34-year-old babysitter carried out the sordid campaign of abuse from 2014 until his arrest in May 2019. Many of his crimes were filmed and played in court.
‘We watched you turn molestation into a game,’ Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger told him on Friday.
During his sentencing, the grandmother of one of his victims begged the Menninger: ‘A death sentence is too good for him… Please show no mercy on this animal.’
Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski was sentenced to 707 years in prison for sexually assaulting 16 boys, as well as showing another child pornography
He was convicted of 34 felonies, including lewd and lascivious acts with a minor after investigators uncovered video evidence of his sick crimes
Zakrzewski, of Costa Mesa, billed himself as a male nanny or ‘manny’ and bragged about his experience as a childcare provider
Zakrzewski, of Costa Mesa, maintained eye contact with his victim’s families as they read their impact statements.
He told them he wants their sons, ‘to break through the clouds and shine bright,’ but did not apologize, ABC7 reports.
Zakrzewski’s crimes came to light after a Laguna Beach family reported him for inappropriately touching their son.
He went on to be convicted of 34 felonies, including lewd and lascivious acts with a minor after investigators uncovered video evidence of his sick crimes.
At sentencing, the families of his victims wept as they read emotional impact statements detailing therapy they have had to undergo.
One mother described having to take her 12-year-old son for tests for sexually transmitted diseases.
‘I have grieved my son’s childhood while he was still a child,’ she said. ‘I can’t look at his sweet baby photos anymore without crying. All I can see is a child who was being abused and manipulated not to speak up.
‘Was it worth it? Did you get what you wanted? Because I fail to see how you could think this would go any other way.’
Zakrzewski’s victims were aged between two and 14 and came from across Southern California
At his sentencing on Friday, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kimberly Menninger told him, ‘We watched you turn molestation into a game,’ after prosecutors played sick videos of the abuse that he had filmed himself
Victims’ families wept in court as they detailed the horrific impact his crimes has had on their children, branding him an ‘animal’ as they begged the judge to show ‘no mercy’
The mother of a child who was just three when he was targeted told the court how Zakrzewski taught him to keep secrets.
Others labelled him a ‘predator’ who has ‘stolen their children’s souls’.
Sickening video evidence was played to the court which showed Zakrzewski using games to ‘normalize’ the abuse, Deputy District Attorney Juliet Oliver said.
In one of the videos, a victim was seen lying on him nude as the defendant ‘caressed’ him, according to prosecutors.
In another he was show touching himself with a boy in his lap, while a third video showed him playing a game called ‘rocket ship’.
Sitting with the victim on his lap, he said, ‘It feels like we’re having sex,’ according to Oliver.
Zakrzewski had billed himself on his website as a ‘manny,’ who not only watched over children but provided a fun ‘buddy’ experience.
The couple who initially raised an issue about Zakrzewski hired him through one of his many babysitting websites.
One mother described having to take her 12-year-old son for tests for sexually transmitted diseases as a result of Zakrzewski’s crimes
Zakrzewski did not apologize to the his victims’ families in court, but told them he hopes their sons ‘break through the clouds and shine bright’
Investigators with the Laguna Beach police Department’s Major Crimes & Intelligence Unit soon learned of a seven-year-old alleged victim from Los Angeles.
They quickly learned of 10 more alleged victims throughout Southern California.
Zakrzewski was one of the creators of ‘My Sitter/Buddy’ a website dedicated to ‘connecting Orange County based children with quality, pre-screened sitters – any day & any time of the week.’
‘It was actually sickening to me and the rest of the detectives we put all of our focus into this investigation,’ Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Jim Cota told KTLA back in 2019.
On his website, which has since been taken down, he says he has more than six years of experience in childcare – looking after kids between three months and 14 years old. He also offered overnight and travel care.
‘At a very early age, I discovered what a joy it was to work with children and be a positive impact in their lives through the ‘Buddy Program’ at my middle school.’
‘Now, I’m a career manny and my 6+ years childcare experience spans from ages 3 months to 14, including special needs… I think the reason I connect easily with kids is because I am not just there to supervise, I participate,’ he wrote on his website.
The pedophile’s now delteed babysitting websites say he discovered the ‘joy’ of working with children early on in life
District Attorney Todd Spitzer branded his crimes the, ‘ultimate betrayal by a babysitter’
On the site he’s pictured shirtless with young boys in a pool and smiling in a photo shoot.
‘These young boys were forced to endure unimaginable terror as a result of the ultimate betrayal by a babysitter,’ said District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a statement.
While lengthy, Zakrzewsk’s sentence is not the longest handed down.
Oklahoma child rapist Charles Scott Robinson holds the record for the longest jail term given to a single person on multiple counts.
He was sentenced to 30,000 years on December 23, 1994, 5,000 years for each of the six counts of child rape against him.