Derek Bogenschutz (Miami County, Jay County).
An Indiana man who previously worked as a sheriff’s deputy may avoid prison after allegedly pretending to be a woman on Facebook in order to harass an actual woman schoolteacher he once dated.
In September, Derek Joseph Bogenschutz, 36, was accused of one count of felony identity deception by Indiana State Police.
Late last month, Jay County prosecutors offered a plea deal which was filed on the court’s docket the day before Thanksgiving.
Now, details of that agreement are coming to light.
Bogenschutz would be formally sentenced to 540 days in prison on the lone count against him, however, all of the sentence would be suspended, according to the terms of the agreement obtained by Fort Wayne-based ABC, NBC, and MyNetworkTV affiliate WPTA.
Instead, the ex-deputy would serve his time on probation.
The defendant would also be prohibited from having any contact with the woman he is alleged to have harassed on social media.
The name of that woman is not being reported. She is a teacher at West Jay Elementary School — where Bogenschutz previously substituted as the school resource officer.
The investigation began in February, after the Union City Police Department received a complaint from the teacher, according to the Star Press, citing a press release issued by state troopers.
At the time, she thought a woman named “Katie Morgan” was harassing her and her boyfriend — a Union City police officer.
But the “Katie Morgan” in question did not really exist.
Bogenschutz was allegedly the person posting under that fake profile, state troopers say. Using the feminine nom de plume, the onetime deputy allegedly messaged the teacher and claimed her boyfriend was “playing” both of them, according to court records cited by WPTA.
Then, the alleged deception increased.
Bogenschutz also sent the teacher screenshots of conversations purporting to show “Katie Morgan” and the teacher’s boyfriend arguing about other women, authorities allege.
It is unclear whether or not those fake lover’s quarrels were actual conversations, but, investigators say, Bogenschutz allegedly went on to contact the teacher’s boyfriend as well.
The boyfriend himself also reported the harassment — and told a colleague who also happened to be a Jay County sheriff’s deputy, according to Fort Wayne-based Fox affiliate WFFT.
The other Jay County deputy’s memory was jogged, state troopers said. He recalled that Bogenschutz had once created a fake Facebook profile — for job-related purposes — while he was a sergeant working with the Indiana Crimes Against Children Task Force.
That case work profile’s name, presumably meant to help catch child predators, was “Katie Morgan,” authorities said.
Bogenschutz’s old task force colleague still had access to the work-related fake Facebook account, state troopers said. After the other deputy’s suspicions were roused, he went back to check the message history on that account and allegedly found several messages sent to the teacher and her boyfriend, according to law enforcement.
The defendant was arrested in Miami County, Indiana, in late September and, while authorities initially expected him to be extradited to Jay County, he was granted “general release” soon after his arrest, according to state jail records.
Bogenschutz resigned from the Jay County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 29.
A pretrial conference was held the same day the plea agreement was filed, court records show. A change of plea hearing is currently slated for Feb. 26, 2025.
Before that, the Jay County Probation Department will prepare and file a presentence investigation report by Feb. 19, 2025.
But the no-jail plea is not quite a done deal.
During next year’s hearing, Special Judge Jay L. Toney will have the opportunity to accept or reject the plea arrangement.
Law&Crime reached out to the Jay County Prosecutor’s Office for additional details and comment on this story but no response was immediately forthcoming at the time of publication.
