Biden-Era USPS Chief in Mail-In Ballot Unit Arrested After Trying To Meet Teen Boy For Sex.
Russell Rappel-Schmid was appointed as Chief Data Officer by U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission in February 2022.
Postal Service oversight agency fires data officer after San Diego sex-sting arrest
Harbor Police arrested Postal Regulatory Commission employee after citizen group set up sting accusing him of trying to meet teen for sex.
SAN DIEGO — Officials from the federal agency that oversees the U.S. Postal Service have fired their chief data officer after he was arrested Monday in San Diego on suspicion of attempting to meet an underage boy for sex.
Russell Rappel-Schmid, 52, was hired earlier this year as the first chief data officer of the Postal Regulatory Commission. He was in San Diego for a conference when San Diego Harbor Police Department officers arrested him, according to arrest records and his former employer.
Rappel-Schmid’s arrest — first reported locally by 10News on Tuesday — appeared to be the result of a sting carried out by the vigilante citizen group known as “People v. Preds.”
Members of the group, which touts itself as catching “online (predators) who prey on children,” pose as young teens on dating sites and agree to meet with adults they suspect are trying to lure them for sex. The group, and others like it, record the moments they confront those who show up at the agreed upon meeting place and post the videos on social media — a twist on Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator series.
Screen grab from the introduction to a video produced and posted by a San Diego-area group that calls themselves Creep Catchers Unit, or CC_Unit.
PUBLIC SAFETY
‘Creep Catchers’ IDs and confronts adults who chat with minors online; the videos are digital scarlet letters
Nov. 10, 2019
A video posted online by People v. Preds accuses Rappel-Schmid of trying to meet a 14-year-old boy for sex. It shows him sitting at an outdoor dining area near Fourth Avenue and Market Street in the Gaslamp Quarter when he’s confronted. He denies knowing why the man recording the video has a photo of him, knows his name and knew where he was going to be sitting.
A second video posted by the group shows Harbor Police officers handcuffing and arresting Rappel-Schmid in his hotel room. A Harbor Police spokesperson did not respond Wednesday to a message seeking additional details of the arrest. But arrest records showed he was taken into custody on suspicion of meeting or attempting to meet a minor for lewd purposes.
“The Postal Regulatory Commission has become aware of the recent arrest of one of our employees,” the agency said in a statement. “Upon becoming aware of this information, the Commission has terminated this employee effective immediately. The Commission is shocked and horrified at these serious allegations and maintains a steadfast commitment to promptly deal with any claims of employee misconduct.”
A spokesperson for the Postal Regulatory Commission confirmed by email that Rappel-Schmid was hired five months ago and was attending a conference in San Diego.
According to a press release published on the website of Chief Data Officer Magazine, Rappel-Schmid formerly worked for Alaska as the state government’s first chief data officer and before that worked in the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
Rappel-Schmid did not immediately return a voicemail and emails seeking comment Wednesday.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/pub...ing-arrest
Russell Rappel-Schmid was appointed as Chief Data Officer by U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission in February 2022.
Postal Service oversight agency fires data officer after San Diego sex-sting arrest
Harbor Police arrested Postal Regulatory Commission employee after citizen group set up sting accusing him of trying to meet teen for sex.
SAN DIEGO — Officials from the federal agency that oversees the U.S. Postal Service have fired their chief data officer after he was arrested Monday in San Diego on suspicion of attempting to meet an underage boy for sex.
Russell Rappel-Schmid, 52, was hired earlier this year as the first chief data officer of the Postal Regulatory Commission. He was in San Diego for a conference when San Diego Harbor Police Department officers arrested him, according to arrest records and his former employer.
Rappel-Schmid’s arrest — first reported locally by 10News on Tuesday — appeared to be the result of a sting carried out by the vigilante citizen group known as “People v. Preds.”
Members of the group, which touts itself as catching “online (predators) who prey on children,” pose as young teens on dating sites and agree to meet with adults they suspect are trying to lure them for sex. The group, and others like it, record the moments they confront those who show up at the agreed upon meeting place and post the videos on social media — a twist on Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator series.
Screen grab from the introduction to a video produced and posted by a San Diego-area group that calls themselves Creep Catchers Unit, or CC_Unit.
PUBLIC SAFETY
‘Creep Catchers’ IDs and confronts adults who chat with minors online; the videos are digital scarlet letters
Nov. 10, 2019
A video posted online by People v. Preds accuses Rappel-Schmid of trying to meet a 14-year-old boy for sex. It shows him sitting at an outdoor dining area near Fourth Avenue and Market Street in the Gaslamp Quarter when he’s confronted. He denies knowing why the man recording the video has a photo of him, knows his name and knew where he was going to be sitting.
A second video posted by the group shows Harbor Police officers handcuffing and arresting Rappel-Schmid in his hotel room. A Harbor Police spokesperson did not respond Wednesday to a message seeking additional details of the arrest. But arrest records showed he was taken into custody on suspicion of meeting or attempting to meet a minor for lewd purposes.
“The Postal Regulatory Commission has become aware of the recent arrest of one of our employees,” the agency said in a statement. “Upon becoming aware of this information, the Commission has terminated this employee effective immediately. The Commission is shocked and horrified at these serious allegations and maintains a steadfast commitment to promptly deal with any claims of employee misconduct.”
A spokesperson for the Postal Regulatory Commission confirmed by email that Rappel-Schmid was hired five months ago and was attending a conference in San Diego.
According to a press release published on the website of Chief Data Officer Magazine, Rappel-Schmid formerly worked for Alaska as the state government’s first chief data officer and before that worked in the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General.
Rappel-Schmid did not immediately return a voicemail and emails seeking comment Wednesday.
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/pub...ing-arrest
