Olympic Wrestler Kyle Snyder Arrested in Prostitution Sting

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Olympic Gold medalist and former Ohio State wrestler, Kyle Snyder, was apprehended in a prostitution sting operation, the Columbus Division of Police confirmed on Monday. According to Sgt. Joe Albert of the Columbus Police, the Police and Community Together (PACT) unit executed an undercover operation on May 9 on the city’s north side, with the goal of curbing prostitution activities.

At approximately 8:15 p.m., officers began to receive text messages and phone calls from a man responding to one of their ads. A rendezvous was set up at a local hotel. Roughly 20 minutes later, Snyder, identified as the man, showed up at the hotel. There, he handed over cash to an undercover officer and solicited a sexual favor. Following these actions, Snyder was arrested by uniformed officers in the hotel room but was released immediately at the scene. He was scheduled to appear in court on May 19.

Snyder, who was celebrated for becoming the youngest American wrestler to clinch Olympic gold at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, and later secured a silver medal in Tokyo, has a storied career. He is a three-time NCAA champion from Ohio State and has claimed three world championships. Recently, Snyder inked a contract with the Real American Freestyle wrestling league. The operation in which Snyder was involved led to the arrests of 16 men, Sgt. Albert mentioned.