Paul Bingle, 49, of Oxford, pleaded guilty to sexual battery and unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, according to the plea agreement filed Wednesday in Preble County Common Pleas Court.
According to court documents, Bingle agreed to a total sentence of 13 to 17 years in prison without the option for judicial release. He also agreed to have no contact with the victims.
Bingle will be designated a Tier III sex offender, so will have to register his address every 90 days for the rest of his life.
As part of the agreement, a second count of sexual battery, one count of disseminating matter harmful to juveniles, and four misdemeanor counts of grooming were dismissed.
Bingle is currently booked in the Preble County Jail and is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 19.
The investigation
Eaton police began investigating Bingle July 17 when Eaton Community Schools Superintendent Scott Couch said that a student reported the band director was inappropriate with female students, according to Eaton Municipal Court records.
The student said they saw Bingle and another student argue and said that they would be alone in his office, court documents said.
Police said that they received sexual and inappropriate messages that Bingle reportedly sent the student on the social media app Discord.
Bingle would also reportedly pick up another student from her home to take to sporting events and buy her expensive things, documents said.
“At a band trip to Kings Island this summer, Bingle only paid attention to (the second student), buying her items and food all day, and was witnessed playing with (her) hair,” an affidavit read.
The affidavit said that the director made jokes around the girls referencing a sex act talked about in a YouTube show that the band students watched.
The reporting student said Bingle told students about his first sexual experience, the affidavit said.
An Eaton detective went to the school July 17 an hour before band camp was scheduled to start, and found Bingle in the band room with a student, with the door locked and lights off, court documents said.
He first said he was helping the student, but when he was confronted with the Discord messages he admitted they were inappropriate and said he was in an “emotional” relationship with the student.
The detective seized Bingle’s phone and Apple watch, and Bingle said there were clothed but inappropriate photos of the student on his phone, documents said.
According to the affidavit, the student told investigators that Bingle started messaging her several months ago and said the relationship turned physical about a month before.
Bingle was put on administrative leave and sent home from school, the affidavit said.
Bingle was arrested two days later and booked in the Preble County Jail, according to the jail website.
He has a five-year music teaching license for kindergarten through 12th grade, expiring June 30, 2028, according to the State Board of Education.
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