2 men convicted after giving meth to child and sexually abusing them on camera

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man and a Newton, Illinois man have been convicted of plotting to sexually abuse a child and administering methamphetamine to the child.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana, Dustin Scott Cox, 54, a resident of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and conspiracy to commit sexual exploitation of a child.

This comes after 31-year-old Zachary Nichols, a resident of Newton, Illinois, was convicted in June in connection with the same case. Nichols was sentenced to 42 years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of permitting or assisting a parent or guardian in the sexual exploitation of a child.

Both Cox and Nichols will be on parole for life after they serve their respective prison sentences. Cox was ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim and Nichols was also ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to the victim.

In 2020, Cox conspired with Nichols to sexually abuse a 15-year-old and produce sexual images of him. This comes after Nichols began abusing the child around 2016 while in a romantic relationship with a family member of the child.

“Nichols manipulated, sexually abused and raped the child for years, while filming and photographing the abuse,” the press release said.

Nichols, a methamphetamine user, gave the child the drug to facilitate some of the sexual abuse. The press release said that in some of the sexual abuse material Nichols created, the child was “nearly incapacitated due to drug use.”

In 2020, Cox was Nichols’ methamphetamine dealer. Cox, who had previously been convicted of forcing a 14-year-old to perform sex acts in exchange for a bicycle in 2004, obtained permission from Nichols to sexually abuse the child on camera in payment for methamphetamine.

In August 2022, Nichols was arrested in Illinois. A search of Nichols’ phone and Google account turned up multiple images and videos showing the sexual abuse.

“These horrific predators repeatedly sexually abused a child, paralyzed them with meth, and traded the victim’s body for drugs,” Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in the news release. “Our hearts go out to the survivors of these horrific abuses and we hope this prosecution brings them some measure of peace. The lifelong trauma caused by these sick criminals deserves federal prison sentences that will ensure neither will ever harm a child again. Together with our partners at the FBI and IMPD, our office is committed to aggressively prosecuting sex offenders who exploit our children and removing them from our communities.”