WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — A former Wood County personal trainer who worked with high school athletes was convicted Friday of 15 counts, including rape and sexual battery.
According to court records, a jury found Zachary Gibson, 32, guilty on the following charges:
- Three counts of first-degree felony rape
- Three counts of fourth-degree felony gross sexual imposition
- Six counts of second-degree felony pandering sexually oriented material involving a minor
- One count of fifth-degree felony disseminating matter harmful to juveniles
- Two counts of misdemeanor failure to comply with underage alcohol laws
Gibson was found not guilty of importuning, a fifth-degree felony. In a press release issued Friday, the Wood County Prosecuting Attorney said Gibson's 16 charges were handed down in two separate indictments by grand juries in 2022 and 2023.
When sentenced, Gibson faces a maximum combined penalty of 98 years and six months in prison, which could be extended to 104 years by Ohio's Reagan Tokes law, the prosecutor's office said.
The Wood County Court of Common Pleas was not able to yet provide a date for Gibson's sentencing. Prior to his conviction, Gibson was out of custody on an electronic monitoring device since the trail was continued earlier this year; authorities revoked Gibson's bond and took him back into custody upon his conviction.
"We are so very pleased that this Wood County jury recognized the truth behind the terrible, devastating acts of this person. He manipulated and violated the trust of parents and students - trust that parents and student athletes must placed in their coaches - in the most damaging and predatory manner," said Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Paul Dobson in the press release. "I want to thank the work of the Wood County Sheriff's Office for their investigation as well as Assistant Prosecutor Charles McDonald and Morgan Spitler from my staff who worked tirelessly to protect the public from the future destruction this person could cause.
"But mostly, I want to thank the men and women of the public who courageously took the witness stand and endured questions regarding the painful and personal trauma committed against them. They demonstrated that our county and this world is filled with far more heroes - and they are heroes - than with villains. We intend to honor their courage by asking the court to impose a sentence which keeps Gibson locked away for decades to come."
Gibson was fired from his role as a trainer at the Fastrak Performance training facility in Perrysburg after the allegations surfaced in 2022. During his time at Fastrak, Gibson worked with high school-aged athletes representing teams from across the area. According to the press release, Gibson used his position to commit criminal acts with some of the students he was training, the prosecutor's office said.
Editor's note: This story has been updated to include additional information made available in a press release from the Wood County Prosecutor's Office.
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