A retired high school choir director already accused of hiding cameras inside a bedroom of his home to secretly record a former student as he undressed now faces additional charges related to former students.
Joseph Ohrt, 56, of Buckingham Township, who was first arrested Feb. 8 for the alleged secret recordings, now faces charges for allegedly assaulting two former students, officials said Tuesday.
One of the victims told detectives he was 11 years old in 1991 when Ohrt indecently touched him inside the music room at Linden Elementary School, officials said in a statement. The victim was a student at the school at the time.
A second former choir student told detectives he was 13 years old in 1996 when Ohrt molested him, according to the statement from the Bucks County District Attorney's office.
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That alleged attack occurred while the victim was babysitting at Ohrt's home in Doylestown Township while Ohrt and his wife went out to celebrate their wedding anniverary. When the couple returned home, Ohrt allegedly assaulted the victim in the basement.
Officials believe there are more victims, District Attorney Matt Weintraub said.
"We want to know if you, or someone you know, has been victimized by this man,” Weintraub said in the statement. “If you have, it’s ok to speak your truth now. Please join these brave victims who’ve already spoken up. We’ll seek justice for you, and for our community.”
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The suspect is being held in county jail after he was post bail, according to online court records.
Ohrt previously was charged with invasion of privacy and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
The investigation into the choir director began on May 9, 2021, when a former student and choir member at Central Bucks West High School spoke to investigators about Ohrt, who worked as a teacher and choir director at the school.
The young man, who graduated from Central Bucks in 2016, told police Ohrt began mentoring him in composing music during his junior year of high school. The man said some of Ohrt’s actions when they were alone made him feel uncomfortable and he described their relationship as “conflicted,” according to the criminal complaint.
The former student said Ohrt sometimes came up behind him and hugged him, told him he loved him and inappropriately touched him. The former student maintained a close relationship with Ohrt and moved into a bedroom at Ohrt’s house, according to investigators.
The former student told investigators he went with Ohrt to a Broadway show in New York when he was 19 and the two shared the same hotel room and bed during the trip. During that trip, Ohrt bought a bottle of wine that they both drank, investigators said.
The former student also said he and Ohrt smoked marijuana and drank alcohol together during a trip to a choir convention in Kansas City. The former student told investigators he was awakened from his sleep when Ohrt put his hand down his pants. He said Ohrt also made sexual advances toward him but he turned him down. The former student told investigators that after the Kansas City trip, he believed Ohrt only befriended him in high school because he wanted a sexual relationship.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office is asking any other potential victims of Ohrt to come forward by calling the Central Bucks Regional Police Department at 215-345-4143 or Bucks County Detectives at 215-348-6354. You can also submit a tip through the Bucks County CrimeWatch website.
Ohrt retired from Central Bucks West High School following a leave of absence last year, an official with the Central Bucks School District said in February.
