COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Former Ohio State champion wrestler Kyle Snyder has been arrested in an undercover prostitution sting in the northside, Columbus police have confirmed.
Snyder, an Olympic and NCAA champion wrestler, was one of more than a dozen men caught up in Friday’s sting operation.
Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Joe Albert said in a statement that detectives “published internet escort ads to solicit others to engage in sexual activity for hire.”
The statement included the names of 15 others who were issued citations:
- Andrew Tang, 23
- Anthony Troiano, 35
- Brandon Fanto, 27
- Christopher Ridgway, 34
- Dae-shawn Clayton, 29
- David Stirman, 46
- Davion Harris, 28
- Fred Holcomb V., 47
- James Augello, 36 (Additional charge of possession of cocaine)
- Jay Wu, 62
- Joseph Lewis, 38
- Kashif Fareed, 26
- Luis Berrosquia Rivera, 36
- Mark Procopio, 46
- Paul Siemers, 43
Snyder, now 29, was issued a summons and ordered to appear in court on May 19.
Just after 8 p.m. Friday, “officers began receiving texts and phone calls from an individual in response to one of the published ads,” the police statement said. “Through a series of texts and/or phone calls, a date was set up at a nearby hotel.”
A short time later, a man who turned out to be Snyder, police said, arrived at the hotel and paid an undercover officer cash in exchange for a sex act.
Snyder was arrested by uniformed officers inside the hotel room on a charge of engaging in prostitution.
In 2016, Snyder became (and remains) the youngest U.S. wrestling champion at the Summer Olympics in Brazil. He also is the youngest Triple Crown champion — having won the NCAA, World and Olympic championships in the same year.
He also won the 2017 and 2018 NCAA championships to become the first three-time winner in the heavyweight class in more than a generation.
