An international music founder who is already behind bars for distributing semen-tainted flutes to 5 elementary school students in Orange and Los Angeles counties is sentenced to 18 years in prison Thursday, August 26, for producing child pornography.

John Edward Zeretzke, 62, of Ventura, who founded Flutes Across the World in 2009 and worked with thousands of children across the United States, said sorry for his crimes before the U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin handed down the sentence.

“I am sorry,” said Zeretzke, wearing light brown prison clothing while standing next to Deputy Federal Public Defender Julia Deixler during a hearing in Los Angeles. “To those who have lost trust in me, I apologize. Prison is not designed to be a place of light. I will forge ahead and let the world know that I exist and that I am much, much more than my mistake.”

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Targeted Impoverished Young Girls

Assistant U.S. Attorney Catharine A. Richmond said that while it appears Zeretzke has taken some steps toward rehabilitation, it doesn’t indemnify his crimes. “What he did was prey on impoverished young girls,” she reminded Olguin.

Zeretzke pleaded guilty to a single count of child pornography production as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors. Four other charges, including traveling with intent to engage in illicit sexual contact, were dismissed.

Zeretzke’s 18-year sentence will be served concurrently with a separate 18-year sentence handed down in July 2020 in Orange County Superior Court for the tainted flute case. He will serve both sentences in state prison.

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Tainted Flute Case

In the tainted flute case, an Orange County grand jury indicted Zeretzke for malicious acts involving five students in Orange and Los Angeles counties, all of whom were under 14 years of age.

In 2017, authorities began collecting flutes from his students after learning they may have been tainted with semen.

A video of Zeretzke who recorded himself ejaculating into the flutes he distributed to two girls at Sonora Elementary in Costa Mesa and three girls at Castaic Elementary, according to a portion of the grand jury transcript obtained by the Southern California News Group.

Founded in 2009 by Zeretzke, Flutes Across the World worked with thousands of children across the United States, including school districts in Orange and Los Angeles counties, to create pairs of decorated flutes.

Children who are part of the program would keep one flute and the other pair would be given away to children across other countries.