Zachariah Abraham Meyers, a senior at Peters Township High School in suburban Pittsburgh, has been charged with 304 offenses, including sexual exploitation of children, sexual abuse of children, unlawful contact with minors, and wiretap violations, according to local reports and court documents.

Authorities allege Meyers operated a “large-scale criminal network” in which he used fake online identities to solicit explicit images and videos from teenage boys between the ages of 14 and 17. Peters Township is a community of roughly 23,000 residents located about 15 miles southwest of Pittsburgh.

Investigators say Meyers posed as others online — including allegedly impersonating a Dutch adult film actress — to lure victims through platforms such as Snapchat and TikTok. Many of the conversations were later moved to Telegram, a cloud-based messaging app. At least 14 teenagers are believed to have sent explicit material after being contacted by accounts traced back to Meyers, several of which used variations of the name “Claire Mauve.”

According to the criminal complaint, Meyers allegedly coerced one victim into secretly recording video inside the school’s wrestling locker room on at least six occasions, capturing footage of at least 10 other students who were unaware they were being filmed. Police say he demanded additional material “to keep my silence.”

In another instance, investigators allege Meyers directed a juvenile to engage in sexual acts with two adult men, record the encounters inside a gym locker room, and send the footage electronically. Other alleged demands included $500 gift cards under threat that compromising images would be distributed to family members or friends.

Residents expressed shock at the allegations. “It scares the bejesus out of me,” one local resident told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The school district said in a message to families that the community is “profoundly saddened and troubled” by the events.

Meyers, who is also reportedly a varsity volleyball player and senior class president, is being held without bail at the Washington County Jail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday.