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Joseph Ohrt, 56, of Buckingham Township, on Tuesday, was charged with one felony count of intercepting oral communications and four felony counts of possessing a device for intercepting communications, according to the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.
Ohrt was also charged with misdemeanor offenses of invasion of privacy and attempting to have the recording devices destroyed last October.
He was a longtime choir director and chairman of the music department at Central Bucks High School-West in Doylestown, according to his biography on the school's website.
Central Bucks police and detectives with the district attorney's office launched an investigation on May 9, 2021, after receiving a Childline referral alleging that Ohrt sexually assaulted a former male student.
The boy said that during his junior year of high school, when Ohrt began mentoring him on composing music, he hugged him from behind, told him that he loved him, and inappropriately touched him, according to a criminal complaint.
The victim said he felt uncomfortable and described their relationship as “conflicted,” the complaint reads.
After the boy graduated high school in 2016, he maintained a close relationship with Ohrt and even moved into a bedroom at Ohrt’s house, the DA's office said.
Investigators say the two shared a hotel room during a choir convention in Kansas City, where the victim -- who was an adult at the time -- claimed Ohrt made sexual advances toward him.
The victim declined and later told investigators that the incident made him believe that Ohrt only befriended him in high school because he wanted a sexual relationship, the DA's office said.
On Sept. 30, 2021, authorities went to Ohrt’s house in the 3900 block of York Road in Buckingham Township. When nobody answered, a detective left his business card in the door.
A young man who lived with Ohrt told police that in October, Ohrt ordered him to move out and gave him a laptop and other items to dispose of in a "non-public manner," authorities said. Ohrt mentioned watching porn on the computer and running the computer "under water."
The man said he was unaware of any police investigation but was suspicious of what Ohrt asked him to do and wanted nothing to do with destroying the computer or any of the other items, the DA's office said.
The items also included thong and boxer-style underwear, a catholic schoolgirl uniform costume, an external hard drive, various pieces of art, and four hidden camera devices, according to the DA's office.
The man then took all of the items to the police department.
Forensic lab testing confirmed that Ohrt's laptop contained pornographic pictures and videos, according to authorities. That review is pending further analysis.
Two memory cards found in the hidden cameras were also recovered by detectives, one of which contained audio and video of Ohrt's former student. One video showed the victim naked as he changed his clothes, authorities said.
Ohrt was remanded to Bucks County Prison after failing to post 10 percent of $50,000 bail.
As conditions of his bail, he was ordered to have no contact with the victim, no contact with any individuals mentioned in the affidavit, and cannot be alone with anyone under the age of 18.
The Bucks County District Attorney's Office is asking any other victims to come forward by contacting the Central Bucks Regional Police Department at 215-345-4143 or Bucks County Detectives at 215-348-6354. They can also submit a tip through our CrimeWatch site, BUCKSDA.ORG.
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