He drove to Collinsville to have sex with an underage girl. He was met by the FBI instead

One of the 14 people charged as the result of an FBI-coordinated sting of sexual predators in the metro-east drove from Missouri to a home in Collinsville, believing he’d be meeting a 15-year-old girl for sex.

He was greeted instead by law enforcement agents.

Vallie Francis Zeller, 46, was charged in the U.S. District Court for Southern Illinois on single counts each of attempted enticement of a minor, interstate travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct, and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. A jury found him guilty on all three crimes Wednesday at the federal courthouse in East St. Louis.

“The defendant deliberately tried to exploit a minor for sexual activity and chose to drive across state lines to engage in criminal sex acts, and I’m grateful the jury convicted him on all counts,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “The FBI works diligently to protect minors from online predators, and I appreciate their collaboration with our office to put this offender behind bars.”

Sentencing is scheduled for July 18. Zeller faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison.

The FBI worked with a joint task force of state and local law enforcement agencies – including Belleville, Collinsville, Swansea and Scott Air Force Base Police – to identify potential child predators who were attempting to meet minors for sex, according to a release from the federal court. Fourteen alleged sex offenders were later charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern Illinois.

According to the criminal complaint against Zeller, the investigators’ tactics included posting ads on social media and dating websites with pictures of “young-looking” male and female “confidential sources.”

Zeller began communicating with one of those agents, who identified herself in text messages as a 15-year-old girl.

“I like older,” she texted him, according to court records. “Guys my age are so lame.”

Zeller began pressing her for personal information, asking if she’d ever had sex before. After she responded that she was a virgin, Zeller told her “it will hurt a little at first, sorry,” then asked her to send him video of her genitals.

“Use good lighting and a close up …” he said, according to the records.

On June 26, 2020, about 9:30 p.m., Zeller traveled to the house in Collinsville believing the 15-year-old girl was house sitting for an aunt and that they’d have sex. He was arrested after initially attempting to flee police in his vehicle, a police report stated.

“The FBI’s investigation revealed a deliberate attempt by Vallie Zeller to victimize a child. Our utilization of proactive investigative techniques stopped Zeller from completing the harm he intended,” FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz said in a release. “We are grateful to the many law enforcement partners who participated in this investigation.”

The FBI Springfield Field Office led the investigation with assistance by the FBI St. Louis Field Office, the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Belleville Police Department, the Collinsville Police Department, the Edwardsville Police Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Illinois State Police, the Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Swansea Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Alton Jail, the Monroe County Jail, and the St. Clair County Jail.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ali Burns and Zoe Gross are prosecuting the case.