Jury selection continues in sexual abuse trial of former Gilman School teacher

BALTIMORE (WBFF) — Jury selection continued Thursday in the trial of a former Gilman School teacher accused of sexually abusing a teenage student.

Christopher Bendann is accused of multiple counts of sexual exploitation of minors, possession of child pornography and cyberstalking while working at the independent boys school in North Baltimore.

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Bendann refused to appear at the start of his trial on Wednesday.

The judge ordered the US Marshals to bring him to court, where his attorney filed a plea of ​​competency.

The judge ruled that Bendann was “sharp as a razor” and allowed the trial to begin.

It is a rare case where child pornography ends up in court.

“Unlike other types of cases where police may respond with force, these cases are often fully investigated before the person is charged,” said attorney Jeremy Eldridge.

Eldridge, who is not involved in the case, says these are often the strongest cases, so the defendants take a plea.

“Child pornography cases all plead. If someone has access to the internet on an electronic device, usually Microsoft or Google, then that alerts the police because they are using a browser and then the police get a warrant, go to the person’s house and confiscate their computer. There is a very high percentage of individuals who confess to the crime once they have the computer,” he said.

Federal authorities say they obtained 10 devices from Bendann and the indictment alleges they were in possession of multiple sexually explicit videos and images of a minor.

Bendann has maintained his innocence and told the court he plans to testify at the trial

“There are two reasons why this case probably went to trial, one of which is that the defendant believes he is not guilty. The second reason is that the plea offer is not satisfactory. That means he was made an offer that he did not like and did not want to accept, and you are caught between a rock and a hard place,” Eldridge said.

Much of this graphic imagery and video is shown to the jury during the trial.

Some jurors expressed concerns Thursday about viewing such material.