Former school teacher Chris Bendann found guilty on all child sex abuse charges
By Christian Olaniran, Adam Thompson
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BALTIMORE (WJZ) — Former Gilman School teacher Chris Bendann was found guilty on all charges in his child sex abuse trial on Wednesday.
The jury deliberated for a little more than 90 minutes on the child pornography, child exploitation and cyberstalking charges before announcing a verdict.
Bendann, who opted not to testify in his defense, was convicted of engaging in inappropriate conduct with a Gilman student who was 15 years old at the time.
Closing arguments
The jury heard closing arguments on Wednesday and started deliberating around 3 p.m.
Early in the trial, Bendann said he would testify in his defense but chose not to before the trial resumed Wednesday morning.
During closing arguments, the prosecution tried to hammer home that Bendann was guilty while the defense stated that Bendann had a consensual relationship with his former student.
Prosecutors alleged that Bendann used his position as a teacher at Gilman School to form close relationships with his students, including a victim, calling him a “wolf in sheep’s clothing,” and saying that “this is a side of Mr. Bendann the Gilman community did not see.”
Bendenn is accused of having sexual contact with a teen who was 14 or 15 years old and filming explicit videos of him.
Prosecutors said Bendann sent numerous messages to the victim and threatened to release the sensitive material if he didn’t respond to him.
Bendann’s defense attorney conceded his client cyberstalked the victim because he “lost his mind when (the victim) was leaving high school and moving on.”
However, the defense said Bendann was not guilty of the child pornography and sex exploitation of child charges and tried to poke holes in the prosecution’s arguments, stating the relationship between Bendann and the victim was consensual and that the videos shown to jurors were made after the victim turned 18.
The defense attorney said the prosecution was banking on a conviction based on the sensitive nature of the case.
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