Mar 11, 2007 - A chess teacher who owned the Fort Collins-
based Chess For Juniors that operated out of his home pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child was sentenced Wednesday to two years in County Jail with 10 years to life of probation.
Robert Snyder pleaded guilty to one count each of sexual assault on a child and unlawful sexual contact after being accused in 2005 of sexually assaulting three of his male students. The recent charges weren't the first to surface regarding Snyder who moved to Colorado from California in 2000
In 1983, he was found not guilty on four counts of sexual assault a California student. A judge dismissed the fifth count against him, according to the Los Angeles Times.The district attorney's office said that for the duration of his probation Snyder will be on a sexual intensive probation, which is meant to make sure he is always monitored and has no contact with children.
The charges were filed after the father of one of his students found Snyder and his son in the boy's room with a chair wedged against the shut door, the Times reported.
The not guilty verdicts came after a four-week trial and two hours of deliberation by the jury.
Snyder is the author of several chess books published by Random House, which includes the bestseller "Chess For Juniors," and has written articles for "Chess Life" and "School Mates" magazines, according to his Web site. The Web site also said that Snyder taught the game to students such as actor Will Smith, and the son of actor Nicholas Cage.
