Opelousas Man Arrested for Sexual Relationship With Young Teen

ARNAUDVILLE, La. (KPEL News) - An Opelousas man is behind bars after he was discovered having a sexual relationship with an Arnaudville teen who is under 16 years old.

The teen, who is only described as "under 16-years-of-age," had her phone taken away by her legal guardian, according to a press release from the St. Landry Parish Sheriff's Office. When the guardian looked through the phone, they discovered deleted photos and messages indicating a sexual relationship between the girl and Maxie Zachary, 42, of Opelousas.

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Zachary is described as an acquaintance of the family.

Zachary is accused of having been in a relationship with the teen since January 2023. The sheriff's department was made aware of the relationship in June.

"A search warrant was obtained to search the juvenile’s cellular device," the sheriff's office said in its release. "Upon reviewing the forensic cell phone extraction, it was confirmed that Maxie Zachary was engaging in inappropriate conversations with the juvenile and explicit photographs of the juvenile were obtained."

"Text messages also confirmed that Maxie Zachary and the juvenile were in a sexual relationship," the release also stated.

On August 3, Zachary was arrested and taken to the St. Landry Parish jail. He is charged with the following.

Carnal Knowledge of a Juvenile
Indecent Behavior with a Juvenile
Pornography Involving Juveniles
Oral Sexual Battery

He is currently facing a bond of $17,500.

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