A teacher at Shalom Christian Academy in Chambersburg, Franklin County, faces serious charges after being accused of having sexual contact with a student. State police have charged Bonnie Gingrich, 38, of Hagerstown, Maryland, with four felony counts, including sexual contact with a student, corruption of minors, and two counts of unlawful contact with a minor, according to a criminal complaint.
The charges stem from incidents that allegedly took place between November 2023 and March 2024. The age of the victim has not been disclosed by the authorities.
The investigation began on March 30 when state police were alerted by a Childline report about Gingrich’s inappropriate conduct with a student at Shalom Christian Academy. During an interview at the Child Advocacy Center, the student disclosed that Gingrich had initially reached out electronically.
According to the criminal complaint, the inappropriate interactions escalated when Gingrich hugged the student, kissed their cheek, and inappropriately touched the student by putting her hand up their shirt and pants, and touching their genitals. All of these actions reportedly occurred on school premises.
Further, the complaint states that Gingrich later messaged the victim, expressing a desire to meet after school and encouraging the student to create secret chat accounts and delete their messages to keep their contact hidden.
Gingrich is currently free on unsecured bail set at $50,000. Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 16.
Shalom Christian Academy has yet to release a statement regarding the incident. L
