Former Costa Mesa nanny, convicted molester, sentenced to 700-plus years

A Costa Mesa man and former nanny convicted of molesting or showing pornography to 17 young boys under his care was sentenced Friday to more than 700 years in prison, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Matthew Antonio Zakrzewski, 34, was found guilty last month of 34 felonies — including 27 counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a minor under the age of 14, two counts of oral copulation by a child under 10, two counts of distributing pornography to a minor, one count of possessing child pornography, one count of using a minor for sex acts and one count of an attempted lewd or lascivious act with a minor.

The victims ranged from 2 to 12 years old.

Zakrewski’s total sentence was 705 years to life, plus two years and eight months, prosecutors said.

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Zakrzewski worked as a professional nanny, branding himself as “the original Sitter Buddy” on his website. Between Jan 1, 2014, and May 17, 2019, Zakrzewski would sexually assault the children he was hired to watch, often filming the abuse, according to prosecutors. He would instruct the children not to tell their parents of his actions.

Zakrzewski was first reported to authorities in May 2019, when a Laguna Beach family told police he had inappropriately touched their 8-year-old son. Over the course of the investigation, 16 additional victims would come forward.

Prosecutors said Zakrzewski molested 16 of the boys and showed pornography to the 17th.

In a statement, Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said Zakrzewski’s actions robbed 17 children of their innocence.

“Children are not born knowing how to lie, but this master manipulator taught these very young children to lie — and to keep secrets from their own parents,” Spitzer said. “The sexual exploitation of children is meant to destroy the smallest of souls.”

In a statement read during sentencing, Zakrzewski did not apologize for his actions, according to the district attorney’s office.

“I prided myself on bringing smiles to your children and all the good times we shared were 100% genuine,” he said, according to the office’s statement.

Prosecutors said multiple parents cried and covered their ears as he spoke.