Ex-Horsham pastor gets 200 years in prison for child sex abuse

A former pastor of a church in Horsham will spend the rest of his life in prison after being sentenced Thursday in federal court for sexually abusing an infant and a young girl under 10, according to federal authorities. 

The U.S. Attorney's Office said in a news release that Jerry Zweitzig, 71, who was a pastor at Horsham Bible Church during the time of the abuse, was sentenced to 200 years in prison.

Zweitzig, of Hatboro, pleaded in May in the two cases involving the sexual abuse of children. 

The former pastor filmed himself sexually exploiting a young girl over a period of years, according to the release. Additionally, authorities said Zweitzig had a collection of more than 10,000 images of child pornography on hard drives found in his home.

“The level of depravity in these cases leaves me almost speechless,” U.S. Attorney  William M. McSwain said in the release. “I will simply say this: today’s sentence ensures that Zweitzig will die in prison, which is probably a better fate than what he deserves.”

Federal authorities said a Horsham detective received a call in March 2018 reporting that Zweitzig had sexually assaulted a girl numerous times over several years leading into 2014.

The victim told police that Zweitzig took sexually explicit photos of her over a period of 10 years, according to officials. He assaulted the girl between 2009 and 2014, authoriti...

Read the rest of the story here.


Showing 1 comment

SNAP Network is a GuideStar Gold Participant