Former Gilman teacher charged with sexual exploitation of student doesn't meet judge's release requirements
BALTIMORE -- A former teacher at Gilman School charged with sexual exploitation of a student has been granted release before his federal trial but will remain in custody.
Christopher Bendann, who was fired from the all-boys private school in Roland Park last January, could not meet the conditions of his release as set by Judge James Bredar.
His trial is now set to begin in late October.
Bendann has been under investigation dating back to at least January when a parent called Gilman School about the former teacher buying alcohol for her son and his friends.
He was arrested by Baltimore County police in February.
Bendann was on home detention in the state's case when the FBI arrested him last month.
The federal indictment charges Bendann with six counts, including sexual exploitation and child pornography.
Government court filings showed some texts from Bendann to students asking for explicit photos in exchange for items like vape pods and alcohol.
They allege he supplied students with alcohol if they ran naked around Meadowood Park, in what prosecutors called part of Bendann's "grooming" process.
Prosecutors claim Bendann sexually abused a student, produced videos of him and later extorted him by threatening to publish the images if he didn't send more pictures and videos.
Bendann posted on social media that he's been "wrongly accused of awful crimes" and said he expects, "in the end, the truth with show" he's innocent.
He would have been released into his father's custody Thursday, but could not agree to the terms of his pretrial release, which included stripping the home of internet-connected devices.
He was handcuffed and led out of court by U.S. Marshals.
Bendann's father, who would have been his third-party custodian, runs a business from his home.
That was cited as a reason he could not agree to the terms of release.
Detectives believe there are multiple victims in the case.
Anyone with information about the crimes can contact the Crimes Against Children Unit at 410-887-7720 or Child Protective Services at 410-887-8463.
Pending any other pretrial motions, jury selection is set to begin in this case on October 23.
