OXFORD, Georgia — Self-described "partners in crime" William and Zachary Zulock aren't on the same page anymore, literally and figuratively. Now severed, the gay activists are no longer co-defendants jointly charged via a sprawling 17-count indictment, and spousal privilege doesn't apply in child abuse cases, at least in the state of Georgia.
One has pleaded guilty, and the other is officially heading to trial, more than two years after the married men were arrested in July 2022 for "routinely" raping their special-needs sons — then the ages of 6 and 8, respectively, at the time the years-long sexual abuse started — among a slew of other heinous child sex crimes. Litigation-wise, they're two distinctly different paths, but they're both likely ending at the same place: prison.
The Zulock "family" on vacation in 2019 | William Zulock (Instagram)
For William, it's now just a matter of how much time he'll be behind bars — if it's 25 years, the mandatory minimum, or nine life sentences plus 140 years in prison, the maximum amount allowed under the law. That's, of course, all dependent on whether the sentences run concurrently, as opposed to consecutively.
Prosecutors decided to drop Counts 16 and 17, the child prostitution charges, against William, which allege that the Zulocks solicited nearby pedophiles off of the gay hook-up app Grindr to perform sexual acts on their adopted children.
"Zachary Zulock was the individual reaching out to those individuals," Walton County District Attorney Randy McGinley said at a hearing on August 20, where William pleaded guilty to the remaining charges of incest by adoption, aggravated anal and oral sodomy, aggravated child molestation resulting in injury of the child, and sexual exploitation of children.
"Are you, in fact, guilty?" Judge Jeffrey L. Foster asked William.
"Yes, sir," a despondent William said.
34-year-old William Dale Zulock pleads guilty on August 20, 2024 | Townhall Media
"I find that there is a factual basis to support this plea and that you are entering your plea freely, knowingly, and voluntarily," Foster ordered. "Further based upon your admissions here in court [...] I do find you are, in fact, guilty of the 15 offenses as they are alleged in the indictment, and I will accept your plea as tendered."
William entered a non-negotiated guilty plea, meaning sentencing was not agreed upon by both sides. In accordance, each party will present what they believe is appropriate to the court at an upcoming evidentiary hearing; the state will make a sentencing recommendation while the defense will offer an alternative, customarily asking for a reduced punishment.
William Zulock's plea of guilty acknowledgment | Walton County Superior Court
"One of the reasons we're not sentencing today is to give your attorney some time to continue to work with you to develop some more [mitigation] evidence," Foster said, referring to the defense mounting its case to convince the court to shorten William's impending incarceration. Such evidence is presented to establish mitigating circumstances, which are factors that the defense argues lessen the defendant's perceived culpability, like a mental illness, history of abuse, or if the defendant played a relatively minor role in the crimes committed.
In court, William's ever-elusive lawyer, John E. Haldi, whose six months of medical leave brought the case to a standstill and whose initial absence that day delayed the hearing's happening by hours, hobbled out to mention a motion he's filing. According to court records reviewed by Townhall, Haldi has requested a psychosexual examination of William prior to sentencing.
"Defendant and his counsel are reliant on an evaluation in this case to present any possible mitigating information to the Court in order to arrive at a just sentence," Haldi wrote.
Typically, defendants are able to withdraw their guilty plea at any point between the time they enter it and the moment of sentencing "for no reason at all," Foster told William. "You have given that right up in return for having [additional] time to develop evidence."
Whereas under a negotiated plea, in which the prosecution and the defense come to an agreement on sentencing, if Foster had sentenced William to something he didn't agree to, he would have automatically had the ability to take back his guilty plea because the judge didn't accept the plea arrangement's terms. "There's no plea deal here," Foster explained.
After hearing arguments, the court will ultimately determine William's sentence, which may be more or less than either side is asking for, so long as it's within the statutory minimum and maximum.
William Zulock's mugshot | Walton County Sheriff's Office
In the interim, Foster is waiting on signing the state's motion for nolle prosequi regarding Counts 16 and 17 until sentencing is entered "just in case something goes haywire [...] which you never know."
Nixing the pair of pandering-for-persons-under-the-age-of-18 charges would knock as much as 60 years off of William's pending imprisonment.
The 34-year-old convicted felon is hoping to get out on the early end. According to conversations with family, William is already asking around for the whereabouts of his car, which the state seized along with the rest of the couple's property.
William, previously a Prada-toting DMV employee, is currently not holding up well while in Walton County Jail. The lactose-intolerant inmate cannot consume any of the dairy products offered in the detention center, and the lunch options aren't to his liking. ("I don't even know a dog would eat these bologna sandwiches. That's how low-grade the meat is," William, complaining about the jailhouse's "decrepit" conditions, once fussed. "This place is a joke.")
Then there's Zachary, a retail banker and the Atlanta-area pedophile operation's point person, allegedly, as he's resolved to take his chances of acquittal at trial. Up to the present point, Zachary was waiving his right to a jury trial.
"The defendant has changed his mind and would like to announce ready for trial," Assistant DA Lacey Majors said at a separate August 20 status conference.
37-year-old Zachary Zulock appears at a status conference on August 20, 2024 | Townhall Media
Zachary's court-appointed attorney, Reginald L. Winfrey, prodded Foster to postpone the trial into next year, noting that the judge had previously floated a February trial date. Foster, dead set on October 21, didn't budge.
"Guess what? I got a second judge to help cover trials. So we'll be trying the 21st [of October]," Foster retorted.
Pivoting, Winfrey asked about spousal privilege, which the two Zulocks tried to raise. "I'm not sure you ever ruled on that," Winfrey ventured. "We'll make a formal ruling on the record, but by statute [...] we cannot exert spousal privilege to avoid testifying about the alleged abuse of children," Foster replied.
Counsel will convene again on September 25 ahead of trial to discuss any outstanding matters.
William's sentencing is tentatively set for November 20, purposely scheduled after Zachary is tried, prosecutors told Townhall.
The state is stacking the witnesses against Zachary, four of whom include his husband; at least two other co-conspirators charged in connection with the pedophile ring; and a previous child rape victim, who was 14-years-old at the time Zachary allegedly abused him in 2011.
Zachary Zulock's mugshot | Walton County Sheriff's Office
William will be compelled to testify against Zachary. Under a limited immunity grant, anything William says on the witness stand cannot be used against him in a criminal proceeding. Although he's immunized against self-incrimination, William will still be subject to penalties for committing perjury and making false statements.
The state says the couple's testimonial statements in police custody "clearly implicate" each other.
According to court documents, in initial talks with detectives, Zachary pinned the blame on William, saying he was the one responsible for "starting" the child sexual abuse. "im here because i let william manipulate me and i didn't have a backbone," Zachary later texted a relative using a jail-issued electronic tablet.
William pointed fingers back at Zachary during tell-all telephone discussions with that family member. Questioned about their taped confessions, William insisted, "There's a lot of stuff that went on that I don't know about," and that he had "no idea what was going on" when heavily armed officers were raiding their residence. A client of theirs had tipped off authorities, triggering the SWAT team's midnight search-and-rescue mission.
Zachary (left) and William (right) Zulock pictured together | Zachary Zulock (Instagram)
As for the "less than a dozen" pedophiles Zachary admittedly sent the "homemade" child pornography to, DA McGinley had indicated in court that there are other potential suspects "out there" still under investigation. Those individuals are reportedly continuing to circulate videos that the Zulocks had allegedly produced of the abuse.
Only one plea deal has been offered to date, Zachary claimed, but did not disclose specifics.
Since the outset of the conspiracy case, Zachary has gone to extreme lengths to arrange a plea deal, such as secretly sending associates on the outside a "love" letter containing legal instructions and attempting to contact the DA directly out of desperation.
"I want an ankle monitor, and if required, a low bond," Zachary demanded of the DA.
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