Rossford principal enters not guilty pleas in child-porn case

3/7/2011

BOWLING GREEN — Suspended Glenwood Elementary Principal William H. Buzzell entered not guilty pleas Monday in Wood County Common Pleas Court to charges he downloaded and shared child pornography from his home computer.

Judge Reeve Kelsey granted a personal recognizance bond for Mr. Buzzell, 45, of Perrysburg who has been held in Wood County jail on a $90,000 bond since his arrest last week.

Among the conditions of his release, Judge Kelsey said Mr. Buzzell is to be on electronic home monitoring, is not to be on the property of Rossford schools, is not to have contact with any minors except his own children, and is not to access the Internet. Mr. Buzzell, who has been principal at Glenwood since August, 2000, was placed on indefinite paid leave by the Rossford school board last week after his arrest by Perrysburg police.

Mr. Buzzell was subsequently indicted by a Wood County grand jury on three counts of pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor and one count of possessing criminal tools.

Documents filed in Perrysburg Municipal Court allege he possessed and was sharing computer files that showed children fondling themselves.

Prosecutors said the images were not of local children and no pornographic materials were found on the school computer he used. A pretrial hearing in the case was scheduled for 10 a.m. April 25.