CB West music department chair Joseph Ohrt charged with secretly filming student

The former choir director and chair of the music department at Central Bucks West High School in Doylestown Borough is facing charges of hiding cameras in his home and filming a former student undressing there without his knowledge, according to the Bucks County District Attorney’s office.
Joseph G. Ohrt, 56, of Buckingham, is also charged with attempting to destroy the recording devices and invasion of privacy, court records show.
The four counts each of possessing a device for intercepting communications and one count of intercepting communications are third degree felonies. The charges of tampering with evidence and invasion of privacy are misdemeanors, the DA said.
Ohrt was arraigned Tuesday by District Judge Maggie Snow, who set bail at 10% of $50,000. He did not post the money, according to court documents, and was taken to the Bucks County Correctional Facility. On Wednesday, jail officials said Ohrt was no longer at the Doylestown Township facility.
Ohrt, a highly regarded teacher in the district for 34 years, is credited with establishing a premier music program within Central Bucks, where he taught Alecia Moore, later known as Pink. She went on to win a Grammy.
He requested a leave of absence on Oct. 26, until his June 10 date of retirement, according to reporting from the Bucks County Courier Times.
Authorities said the investigation into Ohrt began May 9, 2021, after a Childline report alleged the potential sexual assault of a former student of Ohrt. The victim was identified as a former male student who graduated from CB West in 2016.
The student said Ohrt began mentoring him during his junior year at the school and that some of Ohrt’s behavior when they were alone made him feel uncomfortable. He described the relationship as “conflicted,” according to court records, the district attorney’s office said in a statement. During that period, the victim told detectives, Ohrt told him he loved him.
The two maintained a close relationship after the student graduated and the young man eventually moved into a bedroom in Ohrt’s house, records said. When the victim was about 19, he traveled to New York City with Ohrt for a Broadway show, where they shared a hotel room and the same bed. Ohrt allegedly bought wine, which the two drank.
During another trip, the victim told authorities, Ohrt made sexual advances, which the victim declined. After that, he said, he believed Ohrt had only befriended him in high school to develop a sexual relationship.

On Sept. 30, 2021, detectives went to Ohrt’s home. He didn’t respond to knocks at the door and they left a business card.
A month later, a young man who said he had been living at Ohrt’s house since the beginning of 2021, was told to move out by the weekend. He said Ohrt did not say why. He asked Ohrt about the business card and the teacher said he didn’t know what it was about.
While packing to leave, he said, Ohrt told him to destroy a laptop and other items in a “nonpublic manner,” according to court documents. Ohrt reportedly told the man he had watched pornography on the computer and had run it “under water.”
The young man told authorities he wasn’t aware of an investigation but didn’t want to be involved with destroying property. Having seen the detectives’ card, the man took the items to the police, records show.
Among the items police found in the three bags was an external hard drive and four hidden camera devices. Federal authorities were able to retrieve information from the computer, which included pornographic images and videos, police said. The analysis is continuing.
Also found was a “clock cube” hidden camera device and the other three were wall chargers for cell phones, detectives said. The equipment, officials said, was designed to “surreptitiously record to SD cards.” One of the memory cards had audio and video of Ohrt’s former student on it, according to court records.
The video showed the student undressing in a room in Ohrt’s house, authorities said, and the victim told police he did not know the camera was there and did not consent to being recorded.
Ohrt is ordered not to have contact with the victim, anyone identified in the criminal complaint and not to be alone with anyone under the age of 18, according to the DA’s office.
Any other victims are asked to come forward, the DA’s office said. Anyone with information can call Central Bucks Regional Police at 215-345-4143 or county detectives at 215-348-6354. Tips can also be submitted to the district attorney’s CrimeWatch page at Bucksda.org.
Ohrt’s preliminary hearing is set for Feb. 18, although that date is subject to change.

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