On September 14, 2023, 46-year-old Vallie F. Zeller received a nearly 34-year long sentence in federal prison for several attempted sex crimes against a minor, following his conviction by a jury in March 2023, according the Southern District of Illinois.

During the trial, evidence showed that Zeller engaged in explicit conversations online with an undercover FBI agent posing as a 15-year-old girl. Zeller disclosed his intent of having sex with the minor and even traveled to Illinois to meet her. To further Paedophiles criminal reach into the digital realm, the operation that led to Zeller's arrest and conviction involved a coordinated effort between federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. They targeted online predators attempting to meet minors for sex, acting in concert to deter and punish those that prey on vulnerable children per a separate statement for the U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Illinois.

Zeller's incriminating conversations lasted four days, and throughout the conversations, he requested sexually explicit content, including nude photographs from the minor[3]. Astonishingly, this was not Zeller's first brush with the law as evidenced by sentencing records that showed prior accusations of sexual contact with minors in Florida. Agents also discovered further sexual communications on Zeller's phone with another purported minor.

In conjunction with Zeller's conviction, 13 other individuals were charged by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Illinois in June 2020, as a result of the same law enforcement operation. With over 50 officers participating in the operation, the collaborative efforts between multiple federal and state law enforcement agencies served to emphasize the growing threat of online predators and the necessity of concerted action.

As U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe remarked, "The defendant is a child predator, and our communities are better off with him spending time in federal prison."