Teacher Smackdown

In Fort Collins, Colorado, Robert Snyder, 51, will spend the next two years in the county jail for performing oral sex on two male students and inappropriately touching them and another student. One of the victims was 11 and two were 13.

Snyder pleaded guilty to sexual assault on a child and unlawful sexual contact to avoid going to trial on multiple sex assault charges that could have put him in prison for life.

Snyder is a world-renowned chess player, coach and author of Chess for Juniors: A Complete Guide for the Beginner.He taught chess to children ages five to 17 at his home in Fort Collins, and frequently accompanied students to chess tournaments across the country. Snyder also taught online classes (his website chessforjuniors.com has been taken down) and at schools in Longmont, Loveland, Boulder, Hygiene, and Denver.

In April 2006, I looked into enrolling my then six-year-old son in one of Snyder’s classes. I decided against it because it was a 40-minute drive from our home and pricey. Scary thing? Robert Snyder was arrested on September 12, 2005 on charges of sexual assault. Snyder had been freed on a $250,000 bond and kept teaching children out of his home until this year. Why was this allowed?

Enjoyed reading this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed by clicking here.

Robert Snyder, Chess for Juniors, chess teacher, chess coach, sexual assualt, oral sex, sexual abuse, Fort Collins Colorado