A police interview with Buzzell and a search of his electronic devices showed “many other females” were recorded without their knowledge, Miamisburg police detective Sgt. Jeff Muncy told this news outlet this week.
Buzzell admitted to Muncy in an interview that he recorded teen girls without their knowledge, Muncy said. That filming occurred via various devices focused on each teen’s breast area or buttocks, according to the criminal complaint.
In the videos, which were recorded both on and off school district property, Buzzell veered from the planned non-district testing to have students perform stretching exercises, Muncy said.
The females who did so were a combination of those whom police sought out from the videos they saw and females and parents coming forward to speak of such occurrences happening during testing by Buzzell, Muncy said.
“Then, of course, we ask them what they’re doing during the testing and (with) most of them he would deviate from the testing and have them do other things that aren’t necessarily illegal (on his part) but certainly inappropriate,” he said.
Buzzell was arraigned Oct. 8 in Miamisburg Municipal Court, where he pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges of voyeurism, unauthorized use of property and possession of criminal tools. He is free on a $100,000 bond.
Muncy said he does not foresee any further charges being filed at this point.
“When you secretly record someone and what you do with that video, what he’s been charged with, falls under voyeurism,” he said. “I would have to prove he was doing certain things with those videos that I don’t know that I can necessarily prove, but in this case, I can certainly prove it.”
A pre-trial hearing initially scheduled for Nov. 18 was recently rescheduled when Buzzell’s attorney, L. Patrick Mulligan, filed a motion for continuance in the case “due to the fact that undersigned council will be out of the office” on that day, according to Miamisburg Municipal Court records.
Judge Robert Rettich granted the continuance, records show. The hearing is now scheduled for Dec. 9.
In a Sept. 30 letter to the Ohio Department of Education Professional Conduct Office, a district official said Buzzell’s behind-closed-doors actions Sept. 18 were discovered after another school official alerted to the meeting viewed video footage of him in the office Sept. 24.
Buzzell, a district employee since 2000, was placed on administrative leave Sept. 24 and on Sept. 30 submitted his letter of resignation from the district, according to his personnel file, which the Dayton Daily News obtained.
About the Author
