Kevin Chapman
Posted by Webmaster in Art Teachers, Coaches, Hall of Shame, High Schools, ME-FV, Ohio, Old Cases
(2/27/08 – Initial BBT Report)
Kevin M. Chapman, 51, an art teacher and boys swim team coach at Upper Arlington High School in Upper Arlington, Ohio has been arrested and charged with two counts of rape and one of sexual battery of a former student.
Chapman allegedly had sex twice on school grounds with a then 15-year-old female student in 1996. It is further alleged that on one occasion that Chapman forced the girl to perform oral sex upon him.
Chapman has been placed on administrative leave by the school system.
Upper Arlington Police indicate they are not aware of why the allegations were being made now, more than a decade after the alleged crimes. They do ask that anyone who contends they were a victim of Chapman to contact them at 614-583-5160.
3/12/08 – Case Passed To Grand Jury
On Monday, Kevin Chapman waived his preliminary hearing.
Prosecutors then dismissed the charges in a procedural move under which they intend to seek a grand jury indictment against Chapman.
05/07/08 – Chapman Has Agreed to Plead Guilty
Kevin M. Chapman has turned in his resignation to the school district and has reportedly agreed to plead guilty to sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Chapman is scheduled to enter the plea on May 19.
05/19/08 – Guilty Plea
Kevin M. Chapman today pleaded guilty to one count each of sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor.
Chapman admitted having sex with the student at least three times in one year in classrooms at Upper Arlington High School. In January the victim while cooperating with police wore a hidden microphone and recorded Chapman confessing.
Chapman faces up to 10 years in prison at sentencing on July 11th.
07/12/08 – Sentencing
On Friday, Kevin Chapman was sentenced to five years in prison for the sexual battery count and 18 months for unlawful sexual conduct with a minor. The judge ordered the sentences to run concurrently.
The judge also told Chapman that he would “likely” have to register as a sex offender and verify his address every 90 days for life. The “likely” aspect is due to the fact that Chapman’s sex crimes occurred before the sex offender registration law was enacted.
At Chapman’s sentencing his victim reading from her statement said, “I was only 15; I had never even been kissed by a boy. Chapman had talked so much about his sexual escapades from college that I thought that maybe this is what cool college kids do and that maybe he really liked me the most or was even falling in love with me.”
She further went on to state, “In reality, Chapman treated me like his own personal sex toy. I was worthless, less than a human to him. It will take the rest of my life to undo what he has done to me.”
The victim also revealed that her victimization by Chapman forced her into a deep depression and suicidal thoughts and that after graduating from Ohio State University, she wanted to get out of Columbus, so she joined the Peace Corps. She now has a job in Bangladesh.
She further indicated that she has never had a successful relationship with a man and that she went to several therapists, and one finally told her that she had been raped and that she should report it.
The judge allowed Chapman to remain free on bond until Monday because he is helping his wife move to a new house.
Reportedly he will be eligible for early release in about four years.
Opinion of the Webmaster of BadBadTeacher.com
The Kevin Chapman case has been one of the most hotly cussed and discussed cases that we have covered on this site. Over the course of the discussion of this case it has been my job to attempt to moderate the comments of two widely divergent “sides” arising from this case and to do so without choosing “sides” myself.
Over the course of this case I was struck by the failure of the majority of Kevin Chapman supporters to grasp the fact that Chapman did not make “a mistake” or a series of “mistakes”, but instead that he was in fact accused of committing an on-going series of crimes over a period of time, crimes which victimized repeatedly a minor whose very age precluded her consenting to any sexual activity. Yet time and again Chapman’s supporters raised the issue of “consent” or alluded to a “consenting relationship” as some justification for Chapman’s alleged actions..
Age of consent laws create a very bright line which anyone with any degree of common sense should be able to grasp. If the age of consent is 16-years-old, that means that in no way, shape or form can a 15-year-old consent to any sexual activity. Likewise it means that any sexual activity occurring between a 15-year-old and an adult is a crime and is a new crime every time sexual contact occurs between the adult and child. It really is that simple.
When a person attempts to diminish the seriousness of sexual activities between adults and those younger than the age of consent, they are either fooling themselves, trying to fool others or both and victimizing the minor again. Questioning the truthfulness of the alleged victim is one thing, but to pretend that an alleged victim that could not under any circumstances legally consent to sexual activity with an adult “consented” is an insult to the common sense of the average person.
Kevin Chapman committed a crime, multiple crimes in fact, and to this day it appears that Kevin Chapman and his supporters still have not grasped the fact that he is a child molester and unless/until he comes to grips with that fact and receives treatment, the odds are that other children will fall victim to Kevin Chapman in the future and odds are also that Chapman supporters will still be whining about “consent” on the part of minors that can not “consent”.
Kevin Chapman did not make “a tragic error in judgment” as his sister said at his sentencing hearing. Instead he engaged in a prolonged course of action with one purpose and one purpose only, that being the victimization of an innocent child who could not “consent” to any form or fashion of sexual contact with an adult.
The judge, under the power of judicial discretion, sentenced Chapman to only half the prison time the law allowed. Hopefully the time he will serve in prison will serve to deter him from committing crimes against children in the future. A ten year sentence would have in the opinion of this writer been more appropriate for the circumstances of Chapman’s cirmes.
In any case, we should understand one very important fact arising from this case and that fact is that they have a name for adults that sexually prey upon children as did Kevin Chapman and that name is “predator”.
It is a name which fits Kevin Chapman perfectly.
References:
Former UA coach gets 5 years for sex abuse (07/12/08)
Sentencing Statement by Judge Beverly Y. Pfeiffer [PDF]
Ex-teacher pleads guilty to sex with student (05/19/08)
Ex-teacher will admit sex with student, prosecutor says (05/07/08)
Sex-abuse allegations tear communities apart (3/12/08)
Teacher/coach in Arlington charged in ‘96 rape at school (2/27/08)
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John Z,
Usually I agree with you on stuff, but this time I have to disagree. This recent post by “Ashley Reed” strikes me as being one of the most intelligent and insightful posts that I’ve seen from the Chapman supporters. Ashley Reed makes an especially convincing case for Chapman when she points out that Chapman was always ok with the girls listening to “stupid pop music” while they “warmed them their passes to, both left and right handed.” If Chapman was ok with the girls listening to pop music while they warmed them their passes, then how could Chapman possibly be a pedophile? Ashley’s point seems especially convincing when you consider that Chapman didn’t care if the girls warmed them their passes either left-handed or right-handed. If Chapman didn’t care about the handedness the girls chose when they warmed them their passes, then HOW ON EARTH could Chapman be a pedophile???!!!????!!! Explain that one to me, John! I challenge you! John, you frustrate me sometimes with your focus on the facts of this case and desire to apply reason to reach logical conclusions.
Ashley, I find it offensive that you think you’re in a position to publicly spout off any sort of opinion about the nature of the “relationship” between KC and the victim. It shows blatant naivety and a blatant lack of respect for you to publicly speculate about the nature of this case in the way that you have done–your speculations about this case are based on nothing but your own personal relationship with KC, which is basically irrelevant to this case. Think how the victim or those close to the victim might feel after reading your speculations if your speculations are totally wrong. First, I would encourage you to do some research on the nature of child sexual assault. One VERY COMMON characteristic of perpetrators of this crime is that they present themselves to the community in a very positive way–in a way that makes it difficult or impossible for others to believe that they might be capable of committing disgusting sex crimes against minors. By presenting such a positive image, they put themselves in a position of trust, which allows them easier access to children and helps alleviate suspicion. Your positive statements about KC seem to confirm that KC’s past behavior fits this pattern. Second, before making public speculations about this case, I would encourage you to actually do some research into it. Read the judge’s statement, for example, that she made at the sentencing hearing. In this statement, the judge responded to letters that people from the UA community had sent her in support of KC. She said to them, “It became very clear to me that you don’t appreciate the EXTENT of the abuse and of the assaults.” In addition, the victim said at the sentencing hearing something like, “KC has molested me hundreds of times and in some of the sickest of ways. Despite the fact that I asked him to stop, his abuse continued and worsened for years.” When KC was given a chance to respond, neither he nor his lawyer denied anything the victim said. In addition, isn’t it interesting that KC got the max sentence? Obviously the judge, who was more informed about this case than you, recognized that this case was about abuse and not any sort of consensual relationship. Third, my research on the nature of child sexual assault indicates that although the vast majority of child sexual assault cases are based on valid accusations, people in the community are usually very resistant to believing that the accusations are valid. In general, people in the community are more likely to blame and attack the victim than give her/him the support that she/he deserves. Your recent post seems to support this observation.
In keeping with site policies as outlined in the “Comments” page the last name of the person purported to have left this comment has been altered to an initial only by the site moderator.
I do not believe that in ANY way that Kevin Chapman was 100% to blame. Whenever my swimming friend’s and my mouths would cross the line during practice, Chapman would be the first to correct us. He was always looking for a team leader to get the team pumped up enough for situps and pushups. Chapman was always okay with the stupid pop music available for us to warm us our passes to, left and right-handed. He truly is one of the best men I have ever met and I will forever vouch that he has mine andn many other’s well beings as his first priority.
Thanks and have a great night,
AReed
katherine r,
I think that many girls had a similar experience as you. kc obviously didn’t assault every female student he came into contact with. but I know some high-schoolers who took art classes with kc a few years ago, and they reported some extremely, extremely sketchy behavior. and I heard some talk that kc had a reputation with the ua high school students as being “a big sketch.” but i’m sure that not every high school student was even aware of this reputation.
Hahahaha. More lame, immature posts supporting KC. In response to the accusations against KC, there were a small handful of die-hard KC supporters who were insistent on attacking the victim of this case and on arguing that KC had only made the mistake of engaging in a consensual relationship with a minor. These supporters, however, had no direct evidence or knowledge to legitimize their behavior here. The real problem, it seems, is that these KC supports had, prior to this case, closely aligned themselves with KC, and they sortof seemed to take pride in themselves for being so closely associated with KC, the big dog of UAHS swimming. So when KC was accused of committing disgusting sex crimes against a minor, it seems only natural that these die-hard KC supporters would feel embarrassed and kinda take it personally. As a result, they acted like complete jack@$$es and, like I said, did everything they could to attack/expose the victim of this crime and argue that KC had only ever engaged in consensual relationships. But these arguments were really more about defending themselves and their own reputations than they were about defending KC, and they obviously didn’t care how their libel only victimized the victim of a disgusting crime even further. The inappropriate, selfish response of the die-hard KC supporters is an important aspect of the lesson we can learn from the KC sex-abuse scandal.
In keeping with site policies as outlined in the “Comments” page the last name of the person purported to have left this comment has been altered to an initial only by the site moderator.
For Sale: I Support Kevin Chapman shirts. Any offer good, all trades considered. Must sell to send comissary money to KC.
Over and over again, Kevin Chapman supporters have argued that because they know Chapman as a nice guy, there’s no way that Chapman could be guilty. This is the “nice guy” fallacy of child sexual assault. Research shows that perpetrators of child sexual assault are often the absolute last people you would expect–they are our uncles, our teachers, our church leaders, and our trusted friends. Perpetrators of child sexual assault will often use a position of respect and trust to their advantage, which is exactly what KC did in this case. People seem to think that perpetrators of child sexual assault are readily identifiable people who are foaming at the mouth and who only come out at night to satisfy their perverted sexual desires. The reality, however, is more often the extreme opposite. Until people wake up and start becoming more aware of this, the risk of this type of crime happening again in UA remains elevated. Rather than learning the harsh lesson about child sexual assault that the KC case has taught us, many people, it seems, would rather turn away and find justification for what KC did.
In keeping with site policies as outlined in the “Comments” page the last name of the person purported to have left this comment has been altered to an initial only by the site moderator.
i have known kevin from high school swimming he was nice to me never had a problem with me
In keeping with site policies as outlined in the “Comments” page the last name of the person purported to have left this comment has been altered to an initial only by the site moderator.
K, if you’re going to post again that this was consensual, then at least explain the evidence that backs up this statement, espeically since all of the evidence PROVES that this wasn’t consensual and this wasn’t a one-time thing. Why are you so resistant to acknowledging the facts of this case?
In keeping with site policies as outlined in the “Comments” page the last name of the person purported to have left this comment has been altered to an initial only by the site moderator.
K, where are you? Don’t you want to post again about how this was consensual? If not, you could consider apologizing for your appalling behavior.
Don’t forget to check http://www.ua-rapist.com for more comments about K and her bad behavior in response to this case!
UA Swim Parent, I agree with what you said. It’s ridiculous that people can still be supporting KC given the evidence we have against him. The judge threw the book at KC and gave him the max sentence for a reason. (It is indeed very interesting and significant that KC got the max sentence. Look around at some of the other cases on this site and try to find one in which the perp got the max sentence!) I think most or all of the ridiculous posts on this site are done by K and her daughters in a rage of insanity of supporting KC and attacking/exposing the victim of this case. As others have pointed out, such behavior is sick, twisted, selfish, wrong, and outright insane.
kawilliams66,
+Your post looks like one of an idiot just trying to stir up trouble. In our posts below, we have pointed out the facts and evidence that make it clear that this was a case of disgusting abuse that lasted for years. If you are going to come on here and say that our side is wrong, then you should either address the points that we have made in our previous posts or, as “Tired of Perverts In Education” suggested, explain how supporting a convicted child rapist is the right thing to do.
+The downside of sites like this is that any idiot can post about this case, even if they know jack about it. It’s always irritating when people like kawilliams66 or K come on here and make wild claims with nothing to back them up.
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kawilliams66 – Choosing sides? Are you joking? You mean there are people who are actually on the SIDE of convicted sex offenders?
When it comes to RAPING CHILDREN, I really thought it went without saying that people are AGAINST it. You’re putting down the webmaster because he has harsh words to say about this disgusting monster? I would worry if he DIDN’T.