Christopher Degenhart, Crown Point High School Theater teacher arrested, accused of relationship with a minor

On July 22, 2022, a theater teacher at Crown Point High School was detained and charged with two counts of Level 5 and 6 Child Seduction.

A 17-year-old female student who was enrolled in the Crown Point High School’s Fine Art Program is said to have started having relations with the teacher, named Christopher William Degenhart, 50, of Crown Point, after the 2020 winter break. According to court records, Degenhart was in charge of the theater program.

The victim said Degenhart had recommended her for admission to a college’s Fine Arts program. Degenhart urged the victim to arrive at school early during her senior year of high school so they could talk about Winter Break. The victim claims that embraces started to be given and received, and they become more “Handsy” than previously.

Another time, Degenhart requested her to meet him after a theatrical school outing at 2 AM in the St. Anthony’s parking lot, where they chatted while sitting in his car. The woman claimed that following this encounter, Degenhart started emailing her on a personal account about matters unrelated to her studies.

In the copy room near the band lockers at Crown Point High School in February 2020, Degenhart kissed the minor for a long time before class after asking her to make some copies. After this, the victim kept arriving at school early to assist Degenhart with the theater program. Daily encounters between the two in the dressing room for a kiss increased, especially before and after school.

As time went on, the two would encounter each other in the theater’s sound booth, also known as “the booth.” Records claim that this is where eventually the clothing was taken off and repeated oral sex acts were done and reciprocated. The victim claimed the booth was used for intercourse between 40 and 50 times, sometimes several times per day. These actions continued up until the school’s closure for Covid at the end of March 2020.

Degenhart started bombarding her with emails in April 2020 regarding the circumstances leading up to her 18th birthday. The victim claimed Degenhart made it apparent he would wait until she reached 18 before engaging in sexual activity with her.

They started having sex as soon as the victim became 18 and continued doing so until Degenhart’s wife learned about the victim’s emails in August 2020. Degenhart demanded that the victim immediately erase the emails.

According to court documents, Degenhart requested one last meeting with the victim before telling her he was moving out of his house and that he could no longer communicate with her.

The victim disclosed these charges in a therapy session somewhere around June 28, 2022, and Crown Point Police were made aware of them. Degenhart was taken into custody by the police after he was informed of his rights and waved. Degenhart said that the victim is one of the past pupils with whom he has had intercourse, and that their relationship developed into kissing, hugging, and “heavy petting” while she was still a senior at the school and before she turned 18 years old.

Degenhart initially claimed in his interview that he waited until the victim was 18 to have oral sex and other forms of sexual contact with her. When the police eventually challenged him with her claims, Degenhart said his memory was foggy because he was 50 years old and had committed many abhorrent acts, and he was “not going to deny what she says.”

On July 22, 2022, Degenhart was detained and released on a $3,000 cash bond.

Last known contact information
Address: 12476 Washington St Crown Point, IN 46307
Phone: (219) 765-3534
Email: kdegenhart@yahoo.com

Court Information
Case #: 45G03-2207-F5-000342