Former Baltimore private school teacher sentenced to 35 years in sex abuse case
BALTIMORE -- A former teacher at an all-boys private school in Baltimore was sentenced to 35 years in prison Tuesday in a high-profile sexual abuse case.
Christopher Bendann, who previously taught at the Gilman School in Roland Park, was found guilty in August 2024 of five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, three counts of possession of child sexual abuse material, and one count of cyberstalking.
In February 2023, he was arrested on charges of sexually abusing a student.
On the first day of his trial, Bendann initially refused to leave his cell to appear in court and later expressed dissatisfaction with his lawyers, saying, "I'm disappointed with my legal team for not allowing me to speak to the media, which I have requested several times."
During the trial, prosecutors argued that Bendann used his position as a teacher to form close relationships with students.
Prosecutors said Bendann produced multiple videos from September 2017 to February 2019 in which he engaged in explicit acts with a student, who was 16 and 17 years old at the time. The videos were recovered in Bendann's iCloud.
In 2022, Bendann reportedly cyberstalked the same student by sending him cellphone messages, while demanding explicit messages in return.
Toward the end of the trial, prosecutors shared sensitive videos of the victim, claiming Bendann forced the victim to take the videos, and then blackmailed the victim by sending threatening texts. The texts were read in court.
In one of the text messages, Bendann allegedly told the victim he would "unleash hell" if he did not immediately respond to demands for nude pictures and videos.
The defense team argued that the relationship between Bendann and the victim was consensual and the videos were taken after the victim had turned 18. However, they conceded that Bendann cyberstalked the victim, saying he "lost his mind when [the victim] was leaving high school and moving on."
Bendann chose not to testify on his behalf.
Gilman School gets attention
The Gilman School made a reappearance in the news in December 2024 after it was revealed Luigi Mangione, the man charged with the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, graduated from the school in 2016.
Mangione was the valedictorian of his class and a former classmate James Sandberg said "he was a nice kid."
He was arrested in Pennsylvania and was charged with shooting and killing Thomson outside of a hotel in Manhattan.
The Gilman School said in a statement. "This is deeply distressing news on top of an already awful situation. Our hearts go out to everyone affected."
Mangione is also related to a prominent Maryland family that owns country clubs, healthcare facilities and real estate companies.
