OHIO
The Columbus Dispatch
By Kathy Lynn Gray
The Columbus Dispatch
Monday July 22, 2013
The former St. Francis DeSales High School in Columbus choir director and former Ohio State Fair choir staff member has been arrested on child sex charges.
Zachary R. Ruppel, 26, was charged yesterday by Columbus police for soliciting nude pictures and sex acts from DeSales students and other juveniles in exchange for membership in the State Fair choir dating back to 2011. Choir directors across the state recommend students for membership in the state fair choir.
Ruppel, of 4906 Lunar Dr., was a member of the state fair choir staff that year. He was the DeSales choir director until he resigned at the end of the school year, according to a DeSales student who answered the phone at the school on Friday.
The director of the choir, Charles R. Snyder, was put on leave on July 11 by fair manager Virgil Strickler because of the investigation. Sgt. Terry McConnell of the Police Division’s sexual-assault unit said Friday that Snyder has not been cleared in the investigation.
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