Former Gilman School teacher Christopher Bendann was sentenced Tuesday to 35 years in federal prison for sexually abusing a teenage student and tormenting him into young adulthood.

U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar imposed the sentence, adding a lifetime of supervised release when Bendann leaves prison.

“Mr. Bandann is a violator of private and public trust. He is a criminal. He is a predator,” Bredar said

A federal jury in August convicted Bendann, 40, of five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, three counts of possession of child pornography and one count of cyberstalking.

Federal prosecutors had asked Bredar to sentence Bendann to 35 years behind bars, saying in a sentencing memorandum that his “disturbing conduct shows the worst of human nature.”

“He was vindictive and cruel and tyrannical,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Elizabeth McGuinn said in court Tuesday.

According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Bendann repeatedly sexually assaulted the teen he was convicted of abusing. He also harassed him long after the physical torment ended, even after the victim went to college, prosecutors said.

In that sentencing document, prosecutors also accused the ex-teacher of assaulting another teen, whom he was not charged with abusing, and of grooming other students, some of whom testified against him.

The Baltimore Sun does not name victims of sexual abuse without their consent.

Bendann began sexually exploiting the victim in 2017 when the teen was a sophomore at the private, all-boys Gilman School in Roland Park, according to prosecutors. Bendann initially made the teen run naked in his presence and, eventually, he was picking the victim up from parties and making him touch himself while Bendann recorded on his phone.

FBI forensic experts discovered clips of the abuse, including videos of Bendann assaulting the teen in the shower, despite Bendann trying to delete them. Prosecutors played some of the explicit footage at trial.

“The defendant is a depraved narcissist,” the victim’s mother told Bredar Tuesday. “We cannot allow this monster to continue his reign of terror.”

At trial, the victim testified that Bendann, his eighth-grade advisor, abused him at the homes of other Gilman families while Bendann was house-sitting.

Two other former Gilman students testified that Bendann subjected them to “naked laps” in exchange for rides and alcohol.

Bendann continued to harass the teen he was convicted of abusing even after the teen left for college, relentlessly messaging him and threatening to make the abuse public, according to prosecutors’ sentencing memorandum.

McGuinn said Bendann sent the victim thousands of messages over the years, including a deluge of texts when he was 21 years old and meeting his college girlfriend’s parents for the first time. When the victim didn’t respond promptly, McGuinn said, Bendann sent a message that read, “I’m exposing you.”

According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, the victim resorted to excessive drinking to dull the memory of his abuse, as well as the associated feelings of guilt and shame. His academic performance also suffered as he further isolated himself, afraid his college friends would find out what happened to him and that his parents would blame themselves.

His parents did blame themselves, prosecutors said, “for not seeing the true cause of their child’s slow deterioration — Christopher Bendann.”

“The crimes committed by the defendant irrevocably altered our son’s life,” the victim’s mother said.

Before being federally indicted, Bendann was charged in Baltimore County. He initially proclaimed his innocence on the courthouse steps in Towson.

Defense attorney Christopher Nieto called the press conference “ill-fated,” but said Bendann, through his lawyer at the time, was trying to push back on a public narrative that he was guilty.

Nieto encouraged Bredar to consider Bendann’s reputation as a teacher before the allegations, reading for the judge dozens of positive notes from students: “Your love for students is known throughout the school,” read one note. “Thank you for being for me when I was at my low point,” read another. “You care about us more than yourself,” the defense attorney continued.

“I’ve got it. Move on,” Bredar interjected at one point.

“This is who Christopher Bendann is. He is so much more than his actions,” Nieto said.

The victim’s father said that Bendann was earning awards for teaching, “while he was actively grooming victims, including our son.”

“Chris is not an amazing teacher. He is a predator,” the victim’s father said.

Bendann’s elderly father, who adopted Bendann and raised him in what Bredar described as a “privileged” North Baltimore community, also spoke in court. He said he felt “significant sympathy and sadness for the victims” but that he remained determined to help his son become a better person.

Nieto noted that Bendann’s father was likely to die during his son’s incarceration, evidence of what little his client remained to lose after he poisoned his reputation and career.

Defendants are allowed to give the last word to the judge at sentencing and Bendann used his opportunity, at one point saying that he was going against his attorneys’ advice to say something he wanted to. He said he was proud of his time at Gilman and thankful for the friends he had made during his pretrial incarceration.

“I am not a perfect person… but I am far from the monster the prosecution and these families made me out to be,” Bendann told Bredar. He later added, “I know that I’m not guilty.”

Bredar said Bendann’s comments undermined his attorneys’ argument.

The judge likened Bendann’s actions to a lawyer stealing from an elderly client or a police officer accepting bribes.

“His conduct was cunning,” Bredar said. “It was calculated. It was cold. … He made his young victim’s life hell.”

Prosecutors and the victim’s parents argued that Bendann lacked remorse, highlighting an interaction they witnessed after the jury rendered its verdict. After jurors declared him guilty, prosecutors wrote, Bendann turned to the victim and his family and mouthed “I forgive you.”

“The defendant is overtly unrepentant, even defiant,” Bredar said.

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