Former teacher held on child seduction charge
GOSHEN — The former assistant theater director for Bethany Christian Schools is accused of having a sexual relationship with an underage student.
Kyle Snyder, 26, is charged with five counts of child seduction as a Level 5 felony after his arrest Tuesday. Police say he had an inappropriate relationship with a student for about a year, until her parents reported him in late April.
He was booked in the Elkhart County Correctional Facility on $150,000 bond. He no longer works for the school, according to police.
According to court documents:
The victim’s parents spoke to Goshen police in April about discovering the inappropriate contact between her and Snyder. They said there were red flags at first but they believed he was “just being a good teacher and helping” their daughter, according to police.
They eventually developed a bad feeling about Snyder and found concerning messages on their daughter’s phone. They consented to a forensic phone download which police say uncovered around 34,000 text messages, many of them sexually explicit, starting in April 2023.
During a forensic interview on Tuesday, the victim disclosed sexual acts she said occurred between her and Snyder on several occasions. She said most of them occurred at his residence in the basement of his parents’ house.
She said they had discussed their age difference and decided to keep it a secret, according to police.
Police arrested Snyder at his home on Tuesday. He declined to speak on the advice of his attorney.
Police say they learned from Bethany Christian Schools that Snyder was fired in February for making inappropriate comments to other students during a math tutoring session outside of school. He allegedly asked the students, who ranged in age from 15 to 18, when they had first masturbated.
He had worked as the assistant theater director for the high school and middle school, and over the past two years had helped with several seasonal musicals and plays.
