A Rossford elementary school principal is facing up to 25 years in prison for four charges related to
child pornography.
The Wood County Grand Jury Wednesday returned indictments on four counts
against William Buzzell. He was indicted with three charges of
pandering sexually-oriented material involving a minor, each of which
carries a sentence of two to eight years and a charge of possession of
criminal tools, punishable up to one year.
Buzzell was arrested Tuesday morning at his home after a search by
Perrysburg police with assistance from the FBI and the Toledo Police
Computer Crime Unit turned up evidence of child pornography. More
evidence was discovered on his computer at work. The pandering charges
alleges Buzzell may have been involved distributing the illicit
material.
Buzzell is being held in the Wood County Justice Center with bail set at $90,000.
In arguing against lowering bail Tuesday City Assistant prosecutor
Heather Baker said Buzzell made statements at the time of the search
which “corroborated information in the search warrants.”
Perrysburg Deputy Police Chief Mike Gilmore said Tuesday afternoon that
the police do not have any indication so far that any of the images
involve any of the children from the school. Officers are currently
examining the evidence that has been collected.
The search, Gilmore said this morning, was initiated by Perrysburg
police, and did not involve any tips. “It was just good police work from
our investigators,” he said. “They’re trained in his particular area.”
Buzzell, 45, has been principal at Glenwood since 2000. He is married with three children.
His case has been assigned to Wood County Common Pleas Judge Reeve Kelsey with arraignment scheduled for
March 14.