A Baltimore County grand jury on Monday indicted a former middle school teacher at the Gilman School on 16 counts including sexual abuse of a minor, rape and related offenses.

Chris Bendann, 38, of Towson, worked at the Gilman School, a private, independent all-boys school in Roland Park in Baltimore, from 2007 to 2023. He taught social studies and held other roles, such as admissions officer.

A former student said during a forensic interview that Bendann started sexually abusing him in the eighth or ninth grade, Baltimore County Police reported.

Bendann was initially facing five counts in the case. The indictment alleges that the crimes took place between March 20, 2016, and March 19, 2017, but does not go into specific detail.

In a letter dated Jan. 20, Gilman School Head of School Henry P.A. Smyth wrote that it fired Bendann after recently learning of several reports concerning “inappropriate, out-of-school conduct with students.”

Smyth wrote that there were no allegations of “inappropriate physical conduct.” He sent out another letter after police executed a search warrant at Bendann’s home in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood on Feb. 3 and arrested him, stating that “behavior described within the report is abusive and coercive, and it paints a picture of a grave violation of trust.”

Last week, Baltimore Circuit Judge Jan Marshall Alexander granted a request to release Bendann from the Baltimore County Detention Center pending trial.

It’s unclear when Bendann is expected to appear back in court. Through his attorney, Kobie Flowers, he has maintained his innocence.

dylan.segelbaum@thebaltimorebanner.com