Pastor admits sexually abusing an infant. In October, he pleaded guilty to abusing another child for years.
Retired pastor Jerry Zweitzig has pleaded guilty to new charges of child exploitation and child pornography. He first pleaded guilty in October to abusing a girl over a six-year period. He will be sentenced Sept. 4.
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A retired pastor from Hatboro has pleaded guilty to sexually abusing an infant, marking the second time he has admitted abusing a child since October.
Jerry Zweitzig, 71, who had been a pastor at the now-closed Horsham Bible Church until his 2016 retirement, pleaded guilty to charges of manufacturing and attempted manufacturing of child pornography. He is in custody at Philadelphia’s Federal Detention Center and will be sentenced Sept. 4, said Michael Cavacini, spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The charges stem from Zweitzig’s admitted sexual abuse of an infant and his videotaping of that abuse. Investigators found the video, which was created in 2010, while preparing for Zweitzig’s sentencing hearing in a separate child sexual abuse and exploitation case, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain’s office said in a statement.
In the first case, Zweitzig was charged in May 2019 with five counts of manufacturing and attempted manufacturing of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Prosecutors say he sexually abused a girl, beginning when she was 5 years old and continuing until she was 11 and photographed and videotaped that abuse. He also had an extensive collection of child pornography involving thousands of other children, they said.
Zweitzig initially pleaded not guilty to those charges but changed his plea to guilty during an October 2019 hearing before U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone, who will sentence him for both cases in September. Zweitzig’s original sentencing date of June 16 was pushed back due to the coronavirus court shutdown.
Zweitzig faces at least 15 years in prison.
“Sexual exploitation of a minor of any age, let alone an infant, is utterly reprehensible and will be met with swift justice,” McSwain said. “Because of the excellent forensic work by our partners at Homeland Security Investigations, we uncovered this additional crime, ensuring that the defendant will now be held accountable for his actions."