thumb|Scheffel in Czechia in 2008
David Z. Scheffel is a Canadian and Dutch former professor of anthropology at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada.
Biography
Scheffel was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia in . He is a permanent resident of Canada and a citizen of the Netherlands.
Scheffel studied child prostitution in Roma settlements in eastern Slovakia, and in 2017 a report was filed against him for reportedly sexually abusing the children that he studied. In June 2019, a Slovakian court in Prešov found Scheffel guilty of sexual abuse, child pornography possession, and illegal weapon possession. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Scheffel's lawyer claimed that the charges were likely fabricated in order to undermine Scheffel's advocacy for the Roma community. The lawyer was reportedly not allowed to cross-examine any of the witnesses that testified against Scheffel. The Association for Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies and the Canadian Anthropology Society both expressed concern about the circumstances of Scheffel's arrest and trial.