Two Walton County Men Sentenced to 100 Years in Prison for Horrific Abuse of Adopted Children

On December 19, 2024, Judge Jeffrey L. Foster sentenced Zachary and William Zulock to 100 years in prison, followed by life on probation, for their crimes involving the sexual abuse of two young boys they had adopted. Both defendants will not be eligible for parole during the 100-year sentence.

William Zulock pleaded guilty in August 2024 to charges including 6 counts of Aggravated Sodomy, 3 counts of Aggravated Child Molestation, 2 counts of Incest, and 2 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children.

Zachary Zulock pleaded guilty in October 2024 to similar charges, including 2 counts of Aggravated Sodomy, 3 counts of Aggravated Child Molestation, 2 counts of Incest, 2 counts of Sodomy, 3 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children, and 2 counts of Pandering for a Person Under 18.

On July 22, 2022, Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) was contacted by the GBI’s Child Exploitation and Computer Crimes Unit regarding a “Cyber Tip” they had received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding suspected homemade child sexual abuse material (CSAM) that had been uploaded to a Google account with an IP address in Walton County. After further investigation, WCSO investigators executed a search warrant at that address. They met with Hunter Lawless who admitted to receiving and viewing CSAM. Lawless stated that he had received the pictures and videos from “Zach Zulock.” Lawless later pleaded guilty to Sexual Exploitation of Children and was sentenced to 20 years with the first 12 years in prison and agreed to fully cooperate in any prosecution of the Zulocks.

This led investigators to obtain a search warrant for the Walton County residence where both Zachary and William Zulock lived with the victims. Investigators learned that the Zulocks had adopted two young boys a few years before the search warrant was executed. Both Defendants were interviewed that night. They both admitted to sexually abusing both boys over a period of time.

Numerous pieces of electronic evidence were seized and submitted to the GBI. Surveillance cameras from inside the house contained video of approximately 14 days before the DVR was seized. This digital analysis took significant time to go through by the experts with the GBI since it contained over 7 terabytes of video. A thorough analysis found videos of multiple incidents of the Defendants committing sexual abuse in different parts of the house. Cell phones were analyzed which contained graphic images and videos of the abuse as well as graphic text and social media messages about the sexual abuse.

The information obtained from the cell phones led to evidence of a Luis Vizcarro-Sanchez receiving messages from Zachary Zulock about sexual abuse of one of the victims. Vizcarro-Sanchez later pleaded guilty to Pandering for a Person Under 18. At the same time, he pleaded guilty to numerous counts of Computer Theft in which he was stealing from his employer, the Loganville Kroger. He was sentenced to a total of 60 years with the first 15 years in prison along with a requirement that he testify in any proceeding or trial of the Zulocks.

“It cannot be stressed enough how important it is for our society to have individuals willing to adopt children in need. But anyone who does so and then abuses those children deserves extremely harsh consequences and decades in prison.”, said DA Randy McGinley.

The case, investigated by the Walton County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and other agencies, was prosecuted by District Attorney Randy McGinley and his team. The sentence ensures that the victims, now on a path to healing, will not face the fear of their abusers being released.

“This resolution will help the victims continue their process of healing,” said McGinley. “The sentence imposed sends the message that such actions will never be taken lightly.”