The Fort Collins chess master accused of sexual assault on two boys asked a judge Thursday to reduce his bail.
Robert Snyder, 51, made his first physical appearance before Larimer County District Judge James Hiatt clad in an orange jumpsuit and shackles attached to his wrists and ankles.
A bond hearing is set for today after Snyder's attorney claimed the $750,000 bail- out was too high.
"Bond is set quite high in this case, which may or may nor be appropriate," Hiatt said.
Snyder was arrested Sept. 13 based on allegations made by two boys, ages 11 and 13 at the time, who claim they were molested while attending one of his chess camps for children, police said.
In 1983 an Orange County, Calif. jury acquitted Snyder of similar charges, the Associated Press reported.
Edward Huttner, of Denver-based Huttner and Huttner, is defending Snyder and maintains his client is innocent and should be cleared of all charges.
"Robert is a teacher. A teacher does not hurt children; he helps children," Huttner said. "Right now, Robert is really hurting."
Snyder did not speak in court today, he only whispered to his attorney and acknowledged the judge with smiles and nods.
Huttner, who has made appearances on television defending his clients, including Snyder, said neither of the accusers was completely alone with Snyder from either supposed incidents, one occurring over the summer and another "years ago," he said.
"I know who these accusers are. There are others in the community who know who these accusers are," Huttner said, hinting that at least one of the accusers was not permitted by parents to interact with other students at the camp because he was "different."
"I have interviewed the students and parents of the chess camp, and they all support Robert," Huttner said.
Linda Jensen, spokeswoman for the Larimer County District's Office, said no special treatment or manpower is being exhibited by prosecutors in the case, but will fully pursue the charges against Snyder.
He faces two counts of sexual assault of a child by a person in the position of trust and two counts of sexual assault on a child-pattern of abuse. Both counts are felonies.
"Like any case, we feel like it's a priority," Jensen said.
Third accuser claims sexual assault by chess teacher
James Baetke
Issue date: 12/1/05 Section: News>>Regional and State
A third young boy - whose father may be a professor at CSU - has come forward accusing a local chess instructor of molesting him, while friends of the chess master are alleging a police conspiracy.
The boy is the third accuser to allege that Robert Snyder, a best-selling author and owner of Chess For Juniors, sexually assaulted him during chess lessons.
Charles Sendrey, a self-proclaimed close friend to Snyder and retired tournament director for Chess For Juniors, said the latest accuser is the son of a CSU professor. Police would not discuss the identity of the third accuser and when contacted by the Collegian, the professor declined to comment and directed questions to police.
According to court records, the latest accuser came forward saying he was molested between July 2003 and May 2004.
"He came forward within the last couple of months," said Lt. Hal Dean with Fort Collins Police Services.
Sendrey said the boy came forward after his family read an article about Snyder's case in the Collegian.
When Snyder last appeared in court on Nov. 17, another count was added to his charges - he now faces a total of three counts of sexual assault of a child by a person in the position of trust and two counts of sexual assault on a child - pattern of abuse. Both counts are felonies.
Sendrey told the Collegian in a series of more than two-dozen e-mails that Snyder is totally innocent and victim to a police conspiracy.
He wrote in an e-mail sent Oct. 13: "I have access to all the facts on the Robert Snyder case. You will be amazed to learn that this is a 'set up' by the police to put Snyder out of business."
Sendrey continues to say that the Huntington Beach Police Department contacted Fort Collins police in 2000 when Snyder moved to Colorado from California to warn them Snyder was a sexual deviant.
In 1983, Snyder was acquitted for similar charges in Orange County, Calif., but, according to Sendrey, police called Fort Collins authorities because they wanted Snyder to suffer.
Huntington Beach police Lt. Craig Junginger denies Sendrey's allegations. He admits that a semi-retired detective on the force called Fort Collins authorities after recently reading about Snyder in a local newspaper to give them further information on Snyder.
The detective was not directly involved in Snyder's 1983 trial, but was part of a California-wide task force investigating sexual assaults, Junginger said.
John Sendrey, Charles Sendrey's son who spoke from his home in California, was part of Snyder's chess posse in 1985 when he was about 15. He credits Snyder with getting him the title of state chess champion and felt totally comfortable around the Olympian chess master.
"He made it a fun environment to hang out. I trusted him and did not suspect anything," John Sendrey said.
John Sendrey criticizes the media coverage that discusses the 1983 acquittal charges.
"Delving into the past, I do not think it anyway helps paint the picture," John Sendrey said.
Because Snyder was around children so much, John Sendrey admits his chess teacher displayed some odd quirks.
"He was a strange sort of person. He told corny jokes. I had, at times when he was not with kids, seen him a lot more normal," he said.
Charles Spine, one of the two original accusers in the 1983 case, says Snyder is a sexual predator who did molest him several times while attending chess lessons. Even though the 1983 jury did not find Snyder guilty, Spine says he was humiliated and affected for life.
"I was a victim. I was Snyder's prodigy. I had my picture in the paper as the next Bobby Fisher," Spine said from his home on the West Coast.
Charles Sendrey calls Spine an "inveterate liar" and believes Fort Collins police told Spine to talk to the Denver press.
Spine dismisses Snyder's 70-year-old friend calling him a "political whack-job" and "spin-meister."
"I had held out hope it was a passing perversion, a skeleton in the closet, something (Snyder) would definitely watch and not repeat," Spine said.
Spine is active in child advocacy charities and is currently married with three children.
He said: "I can tell you the actual incidents of abuse are still crystal clear in my mind."
1 comments:
Andrius Kulikauskas said...
The charges against Robert Snyder are grave. I have faith that the justice system is fair in caring for the victims and preventing future abuse.
Thank you for providing the opportunity to comment. You seem to prefer to be anonymous. I choose to give my name: Andrius Kulikauskas.
I was a chess student of Robert's from about 1977 to 1981, ages thirteen to sixteen or so.
Robert is one of the finest people I know, certainly among chess players. He's made a difference in hundreds of people's lives, helping them discover and foster their genius. I'm very glad that he's shared his gifts as an author as well.
Once, when I was his student, he used a chair to keep the door shut. He said this was because his mother had a habit of disturbing lessons.
Then he sat next to me, gazed at me and asked if I knew how special I was to him?
I told him angrily that I was very uncomfortable with him and he must sit on the other side of the board and keep the door unlocked.
Later, I told my mother. I was going to quit the lessons, and I thought it was very wrong what he did, and something should be done. She said that it was up to me, but inclined me not to judge too harshly. I did continue the lessons and he behaved correctly.
A few years later, he was charged in a rather similar situation, but he was found not guilty and a charge was dimissed.
Robert was, at heart, a child and his gregariousness was always childlike. I don't think our world has much place for that, but certainly he made our world better. He was always vulnerable, and I am sad that he hurt others who were vulnerable.
I think that Robert is creative enough and positive enough to find a way to apply his talents without focusing on children. I hope that our society is healthy enough to include somebody like Robert.
My feeling in these situations is that our society is not supportive of people like Robert who are struggling to make the best of the genetic predisposition they have been dealt. Our society is sick and we're not much interested to seek a cure.
Jesus speaks of hell as a place that will forever burn away, clean away all of our faults. I could wish that for all of us.
I hope yet that we all might have the impact that Robert has, and that together we might all enjoy heaven.
Thank you for allowing me to post here.
I blog over at Teacher Smackdown and am constantly doing Google searches to find stories about teachers and coaches abusing students. When I found this story, it sent chills up my spine. Why? Because it's something I should have know about, but didn't. And I was this close to sending my son into the lion's den.
Only a 40 minute drive north from us in Fort Collins, Colorado, Robert Snyder, 51, a world-renowned chess player, coach and author of Chess for Juniors: A Complete Guide for the Beginner, was teaching chess to children ages five to 17 in his home.
In April 2006, I looked into enrolling Nathan, who was then six, in one of Snyder’s classes. Nathan loves chess and I wanted to find a class where he could improve his skills and meet other kids who are interested in playing. I decided against it because it was too far away from our home and pricey.
But what really freaked me out that Snyder was arrested on September 12, 2005 on charges of sexual assault 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 had been freed on a $250,000 bond and kept teaching children out of his home until this year when his case went to trial.
I could have found this out by doing a simple Google search on his name. The news stories were out there on the internet, easily found. Yet I trusted him when his website (now pulled off the internet) mentioned that he supervised chess clubs in our school district. If the school district gave him access to students, shouldn't I trust him? Little did I know that they don't run background checks on people who volunteer in the schools.
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. He'll spend two years in the county jail instead.
So now I Google the names (and all the variations I can think of) on all the people who coach my children, like their karate teacher Scott. I also make sure that I'm always in class and that the classes are taught in a public place accessible to any parent at any time. If there's ever a time when my kids go away to a tournment or game, my husband or I will be there chaperoning.
Suspect all. Trust no one. Check mate.
