BUCKS COUNTY, Pa. (BCDAO) – Joseph Ohrt, the former choir director at Central Bucks West High School, was sentenced on Monday, June 12, 2023, to 2 ½ years to five years in a state prison for indecently assaulting two former students and filming another former student as he undressed.
Ohrt, 57, of Buckingham Township, pleaded no contest in October to two counts each of indecent assault, corruption of minors and invasion of privacy and one count of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.
Before Ohrt was sentenced, the three victims gave tearful and powerful statements, telling the court how Ohrt’s actions have impacted their lives. “You not only invaded my privacy, but you invaded my entire being,” one of the victims said in court.
Another victim called Ohrt, the “the lowest of lows” and asked Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley to give him the maximum sentence.
The judge sentenced Ohrt in the aggravated range of sentencing, saying his conduct will have an impact on the victims for decades and has impacted the community at large.
Finley told Ohrt, who gave a statement before he was sentenced, that he did not find him remorseful or empathetic to the victims. “You don’t care about anybody but yourself,” the judge said.
In addition to the state prison sentence, Finley also sentenced Ohrt to five years of probation and ordered that he continue sexual offender treatment and undergo a mental health evaluation. As part of his plea, Ohrt is required to register as a sex offender for 15 years.
Ohrt was first charged on Feb. 8, 2022, after an investigation found he took a video recording of a former male student without consent.
Following the publicity of his arrest, detectives received multiple tips through emails, phone calls and on our CrimeWatch site from people reporting inappropriate past contact with Ohrt, leading to additional charges a month later that he sexually assaulted two former students.
Detective Sergeant Paul Kreuter of the Central Bucks Regional Police Department and Detective Greg Beidler of the Bucks County Detectives investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Brittney M. Kern.
