Former Hardin Northern band director guilty of sex crimes

KENTON — A former Hardin Northern School band instructor pleaded guilty Wednesday in Hardin County Common Pleas Court to possessing images of a minor in a state of nudity.

Cody Switzer, 28, of Dunkirk, will be sentenced on Aug. 26 as a Tier 1 sex offender after entering guilty pleas to two counts of illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material of performance, fifth-degree felonies, and one count of falsification, a first-degree misdemeanor.

The pleas were part of a negotiated deal between Switzer and Hardin County prosecutors that included a joint recommendation that the defendant be sentenced to unspecified terms of community control and public service. Switzer also agreed to undergo sex offender counseling and to forfeit the iPhone where multiple images of the victim in the nude were discovered by investigators.

Prosecutors, who declined to say whether the victim in the case was male or female, dismissed three counts of illegal use of a minor or impaired person in nudity-oriented material and one count of tampering with evidence as part of the plea deal.

The state’s case against Switzer centered around a video that was posted on Facebook in February this year which intimated that the Dunkirk man was attempting to arrange a rendezvous with a minor at Arlington Park in Hancock County.

A deputy from the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched to Switzer’s home, at which time Switzer signed a document stating that the video was falsified and that no meeting took place. That was found to be a lie.

Switzer granted consent for law enforcement to search electronic devices in his home, and investigators were able to determine the meeting did take place. A further search of his cell phone revealed images of the victim from 2023 showing that person in a nude state.

Switzer served as Hardin Northern’s band and music teacher but was placed on indefinite leave by the school back in February.