Will County man sentenced to nearly 30 years prison for sexual abuse of minor

A Will County man who admitted to bringing a minor to Illinois from Iowa to engage in criminal sexual activity has been sentenced to 27¹/₂ years in federal prison, authorities said.

Ryan Zelek, 33, of Wilmington, must also pay $54,298 in restitution, under a sentence handed down Wednesday by U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey in Chicago.

According to federal prosecutors, Zelek first communicated with the 13-year-old girl in 2021 on the social media application Snapchat. Zelek later drove to Iowa, picked up the girl outside of a movie theater and brought her to his home in Illinois, where he sexually assaulted her, prosecutors said. He then drove her back to Iowa.

Law enforcement later conducted a court-authorized search of Zelek’s electronic devices and discovered thousands of images and videos of child pornography, including sadistic acts being perpetrated against very young children, according to prosecutors.

Zelek pleaded guilty last year to a federal charge of transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, prosecutors said.