JAY COUNTY, Ind. (WPTA/Gray News) – A former sheriff’s deputy has been accused of using a fake Facebook profile to harass an elementary school teacher he went on a date with, according to officials.
A plea deal was offered to former Jay County Sheriff’s deputy Derek Bogenschutz for no jail time.
If the agreement is accepted by the judge overseeing the case, Bogenschutz will be sentenced to 540 days for identity deception with all of the sentences suspended. The former deputy would then serve the time on probation.
The plea agreement also calls for him to not have contact with the woman he is accused of harassing.
Bogenschutz was charged after an investigation by the Indiana State Police found that he allegedly used a Facebook account with the name “Katie Morgan” to harass a teacher at West Jay Elementary School, who he once took on a date, according to a probable cause affidavit written by ISP Detective Matthew Teusch. He previously subbed as a part-time resource officer at the woman’s school.
Bogenschutz allegedly contacted the teacher via the “Katie Morgan” Facebook profile to claim her boyfriend, a Union City Police Department officer, was “playing” them both, court records show.
The former deputy also allegedly sent screenshots of conversations that appeared to be between the woman’s boyfriend and “Katie” arguing about him speaking to other women.
Aside from this case, Bogenschutz was given a five-day unpaid leave and a 30-day suspension of his take-home car privileges in 2019 when a citizen recorded him driving “erratically,” WRTV reported.
The former deputy is set to be sentenced on Feb. 26 if the agreement is accepted.
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