But that step seemed far away at 11 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, when two girls, age 12 and 13 and stuck 170 miles from home, were telling Toledo police that a man they knew only as David had sexually assaulted them.
Xenia police already knew the girls had gone missing the day before, and Xenia Detective Holly Clay said the girls’ parents reported they’d been talking to a man on the Internet. Police found his screen name on the computer and filed a subpoena with MySpace.com for his account.
According to an FBI affidavit, the information came back to the ComCast cable provider, and after an emergency request, ComCast gave Xenia police Zobel’s name, address and telephone number in Ann Arbor.
By June 5, Xenia police had talked to Zobel, who admitted only giving the girls a ride and dropping them off in Toledo.
But that same day, Xenia police said they examined one of the girls’ cell phones and found 41 text messages to and from Zobel, starting with a request from the girl to Zobel, asking for a place to stay after her friend ran away from home. Several text messages from each side reference possible sexual contact, police said.
FBI spokesman Michael Brooks said authorities also subpoenaed the cell phone company, with the number coming back to Zobel. Brooks said the FBI got involved last weekend, analyzed data from the subpoenas, and served a search warrant on Zobel on Tuesday, leading to the discovery of explicit photos of the two girls.
Brooks also said Zobel told agents he planned to go to Alaska next week and had been hired to work at a music program for college-age students in upstate New York for two months this summer.
Brent Tabacchi, an assistant U.S. Attorney involved in the case, said authorities kept tabs on Zobel while investigating further, then arrested him Friday due to his travel plans.
“The FBI seized a computer, camera, and various electronics,” Tabacchi said. “Going through that electronic equipment takes time and forensic skill, but we knew where he was, so we could keep building and strengthening our case.”
Zobel’s wife told the FBI he works with a youth choir at the University of Michigan and with youth at their church. The university’s Web site lists him as a pianist with the men’s Glee Club and chorus master and music director at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Ypsilanti.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2278 or jkelley@daytondailynews.com.
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