Christopher Daniel

Christopher Daniel case

A Cold, Calculated Child Rapist

Christopher Daniel is the textbook example of a sexual predator. Daniel, who was attracted to young boys, knew the easiest way to gain access to his victims was by placing himself in a position of trust as a teacher and religious leader. In 1988, Daniel started working at Saint Andrew School in Upper Arlington, Ohio after being kicked out of the Pontifical College Josephinum. According to Daniel, he dropped out because he did not like the liberal movement of the Catholic Church. Dean of students Rev. Roger Cooney stated Daniel was kicked out because “There simply were too many red flags. We really felt he needed to explore other avenues in life.”

Once Daniel was hired at the school, he immediately began involving himself in classes and clubs that offered him access to young boys. Daniel taught computer science and affiliated himself with the school ski and golf clubs and with Cub Scouts. He also trained boys to be altar boys at St. Andrew Church.

A Predator Emerges

On August 23, 1992, after noticing a change in their son’s behavior, the parents of a 12-year-old boy at the school talked with their son. He advised them that Daniel had been raping him since mid-June. The parents called police the next day and reported the crime. At 3:30 a.m. on August 25, 1992, Daniel was arrested charged with rape. Authorities were also investigating Daniel for the rape of another young boy, age 13.

Daniel posted bond and was released a few days after his arrest. Approximately one month later, one of Daniel’s victims was golfing with classmates at the Safari Golf Course when he received a phone call in the clubhouse. The 13-year-old boy was visibly upset after the call and the golf pro asked him what was wrong. They boy said the call was from Christopher Daniel. Daniel had begged the boy to meet with him, however the boy said no. Daniel then told the boy he had an incriminating tape of him that would be televised nationwide unless he told authorities the accusation “was all a joke.” The golf pro called the boy’s parents, who contacted police. When officers arrived, they found Daniel in a parked car in the golf course parking lot. He had a pair of binoculars with him. Daniel was arrested again and was released a second time after posting a higher bond.

Nine months later, Daniel was arrested again for stalking one of his young victims. On June 14, 1993, the young boy called his mother and was very upset. He told his mother he had seen Daniel in a parking lot while riding his bike with his younger sister. Daniel, pulling in and out of parking lots, followed them home. A few days, later the boy said he saw Daniel watching him skate. Daniel and his defense attorney claimed all the incidents were a coincidence. Daniel told the court, “They tried this once before. Trying to revoke my bond by making up stories.” Judge David Cain saw right through Daniel and revoked his bond. Eight days later, Daniel would go to trial.

Horrific Abuse

At trial, both the two young victims and their parents testified before the jury. The parents told jurors how they had befriended Daniel and trusted him. They described how Daniel took the boys on outings and hired them to do work around his condominium. Daniel even accompanied one of the families on vacations. One child’s father testified, “We thought we were doing a good Christian deed by sharing our home and our family affiliation with him.”

The young victims’ testimony was horrific. They said Daniel told them he was studying to become a priest and needed them to help him with a paper on the sexual development of boys. The boys said Daniel would hold “sessions” in his condominium. During that time, he would show them pornographic magazines and movies. His sexual attacks would progress over time, and he would eventually rape them every way possible.

One of the boys told jurors that he picked up trash the first day he worked for Daniel. When he went into Daniel’s home to collect his money, Daniel gave him a Playboy and played a pornographic movie. Daniel told the boy about the sex study and began fondling the boy. The other victim had a similar story. A third boy, age 14, said Daniel propositioned him to be involved with the sex study. The boy said he thought “it was a little out of line” and refused the offer. One of the boys, while crying, said “I was scared. He said he had a paper on it. I wanted to help him out.”

While the boys testified, Daniel had the audacity to look at their parents and shake his head and roll his eyes.

Prosecutors also presented other incriminating evidence, including a videotape titled “The Pope in Arizona,” which had been taped over with pornography. The video included nude and partially nude women and showed acts of bondage. Prosecutors also presented a green blanket, which had semen stains on it belonging to Christopher Daniel. The blanket corroborated the statements of the two boys.

A Series Of Lies

Daniel spent three hours on the stand testifying on his own behalf. He said “never” more than a dozen times and accused the victims of lying. He said he was a computer whiz and he worked around the clock at the church when he was not teaching. He claimed he took pornographic materials away from the boys and lectured one of them after seeing the boy masturbate twice. Daniel said he did not tell the boys’ parents because he did not want to get them in trouble. He admitted taking the boys on trips, giving them gifts and giving them jobs, however he denied the sexual assaults. Daniel said, after doing their work around the condominium complex, the boys only came into his home briefly to collect their pay. As for the blanket, he said he slept in the nude and the stains were to result of nocturnal emissions. He could not explain why two boys, who did not know each other, had identical stories of manipulation and sexual assault.

Monsignor Donald Schultz testified and praised Daniel for all his hard work at the church and school. He also told jurors due to complaints about Daniel’s harsh discipline tactics, he was not renewed for the 1992-1993 school year.

Rebuttal witness refuted almost all of Daniel’s testimony. The parish secretary said that Daniel was not working around the clock. She stated, “During summer time, he [Daniel] was rarely there, and during the school year, he was teaching school.” A parish member who helped Daniel with his computer work said he was far from an expert. He said Daniel was “a novice” and he called “millions of times” about “simple questions.” Several neighbors told jurors they saw boys’ bicycles outside Daniel’s condominium, however they never saw the boys working. One neighbor said, “Whenever there were bicycles, the shades would be drawn.”

Guilty and Absolutely No Remorse

It took the jury 10 hours to convict Daniel of multiple charges of rape as well as several other sex crimes. Judge David Cain swiftly sentenced Daniel to the maximum sentence on all counts, which amounted to 15-100 years in prison. Four of the aggravated sentences, which carried sentences of 10-25 years, were ordered to run consecutively (back to back). Since the indictment did not specify the rapes were done under force or threat of force, a life sentence was not possible.

At sentencing, Judge Cain stated, “It took an inconceivable amount of courage to even come here and talk about these things. You have earned our admiration and respect. I hope you will be able to put this behind you and not lose faith in your church.”

We have obtained Daniel’s available parole records and, although it has been over 20 years, Daniel still refuse to take any responsibility or express remorse for his actions. The most recent records from 2010 state that Daniel “implies that these were allegations made up by the victims in order to sever their ties to an unpopular teacher.” He also has refused to take any sex offender programming. In 2001, Christopher Daniel was adjudicated a sexual predator, which means he is considered the most dangerous of all sex offenders and that, if he is released, he is highly likely to assault more children.

No Parole
Christopher Daniel is the absolutely the worst of the worst. He placed himself in position of trust, both as a teacher and a religious leader, so he could sexually assault young boys at will. He manipulated both the children and their families in order to gratify his twisted and disgusting sexual desires. Based on the facts of this case, we strongly believe there many more victims who never came forward.

The victims who testified against Daniel are heroes and likely saved many other children from being sexually assaulted. Releasing Daniel would be a complete injustice to both the victims and their families and would demean his cruelty to them. We believe Christopher Daniel should be required to serve his maximum 100-year sentence for his hideous crimes.

In order to further the interest of justice and protect society, we urge the Ohio Parole Board to give Christopher Daniel the maximum continuance of ten years at all future parole hearings.