Feds seek 35 years for ex-Gilman School teacher Chris Bendann in sex abuse case

Federal prosecutors are seeking a sentence of 35 years in prison for a former teacher at the Gilman School who was convicted of sexually abusing a student and recording videos of it, stating the “disturbing conduct shows the worst of human nature.”

In a 27-page sentencing memo filed on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen McGuinn and Kim Hagan wrote that they intend to present evidence at sentencing on Jan. 21 that Chris Bendann sexually abused other children. They’re also pushing the judge to hand down a lifetime of supervised release.

“While the Defendant was able to present himself in the Gilman community as a trusted guardian and mentor for these children, and as an exemplary teacher, he was secretly breaking that trust,” McGuinn and Hagan said. “The Defendant was two-faced, a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

Bendann, 40, of Baltimore, was found guilty in 2024 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore on all counts of sexual exploitation of a child, possession of child pornography and cyberstalking. He worked at the private, independent all-boys school in Roland Park from 2007 to 2023.

His attorneys, Christopher Nieto and Gary Proctor, have until Jan. 14 to file their response.

U.S. Senior District Judge James K. Bredar will determine the punishment for the crime. Sexual exploitation of a child carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison.

McGuinn and Hagan said Bendann “manipulated and viciously threatened” the student and was “relentless, callous, and cruel.”

Prosecutors in detail recounted the evidence presented at trial.

Bendann met the student when he was in the eighth grade and served as his teacher, adviser and coach. He’s now 23.

The Baltimore Banner does not identify people who are survivors of sexual abuse without their permission.

The student testified that Bendann drove him and his friends to Meadowood Regional Park or close by to a hill at the St. Paul’s Schools to run laps naked as a form of repayment for rides home or trips to McDonald’s.

The behavior, the student said, “just kept getting worse and worse.”

Bendann sexually abused the student and recorded the exploitation. Law enforcement found eight explicit videos from when he was 16 and 17, which the jury watched during the trial.

Later, Bendann constantly texted the student after he went away to college and threatened to expose nude images if he did not submit to his demands.

McGuinn and Hagan described the sexual abuse as “part of a pattern of disturbing behavior.” Bendann, they said, used his position to “selfishly satisfy his own sexual needs.”

“It is clear that the Defendant is sexually attracted to children, particularly teenaged boys,” McGuinn and Hagan said. “His pervasive and continual abuse of his position of trust, using his teaching position to access and exploit students, is both shocking and horrific.”

Before Bendann left the courtroom after the jury found him guilty on all counts, prosecutors allege, he turned to face the family members of young people in the gallery and mouthed, “I forgive you.”

Bendann called his father, Lance, the next day and confirmed that’s what happened, prosecutors assert. They claim he said the following: “I get why they lied; they thought they were doing the right thing.”

Prosecutors allege Bendann did not show remorse or accept responsibility. Instead, “there was only his continued need to hold power over others” and “gaslight” the student and his family.

McGuinn and Hagan said that behavior was in line with his conduct before trial.

When he was initially facing prosecution in Baltimore County Circuit Court, Bendann and his attorney at the time, Kobie Flowers, held a news conference on the courthouse steps.

“There are hundreds of children that are now questioning every positive experience that they’ve had with me and wondering about my intentions,” Bendann said.

He proclaimed his innocence and accused the Gilman School and law enforcement in Baltimore County of defaming him.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Maryland later took up the case.

Before jury selection was set to begin, Bendann refused to leave his cell at the Chesapeake Detention Facility. He later showed up to court and vowed to skip parts of his trial — though he did not follow through on that promise.