Former deputy arrested for a felony

A former Jay County Sheriff’s Office deputy is accused of committing identity deception.

Derek J. Bogenschutz, 36, Peru, was arrested and booked into Miami County Jail on Wednesday for allegedly harassing two people with a fake Facebook account created for state department investigations. He faces a Level 6 felony in Jay Superior Court for identity deception.

In February, officials from the sheriff’s office asked the Indiana State Police Fort Wayne Post to investigate the actions of Bogenschutz. (He resigned from Jay County Sheriff’s Office on Feb. 29.)

According to the affidavit for probable cause filed in connection with his case, Bogenschutz used a fake Facebook account under the name of Katie Morgan to contact a West Jay Elementary School teacher. Bogenschutz previously worked part-time as a school resource officer and went on a date with the teacher, the affidavit says.

Assuming the identity of the fake Facebook account, Bogenschutz told the teacher that Katie Morgan and the teacher’s boyfriend were in a relationship and that the boyfriend had been playing them, documents say. Bogenschutz, addressing the teacher under the fake name, sent screenshots of instant messages between Katie Morgan and the teacher’s boyfriend.

The boyfriend called Union City police to report the Facebook account for harassment against himself and the teacher. Union City police brought up the situation to a Jay County Sheriff’s Office deputy, who recalled Bogenschutz had a fake Facebook account under the same name that he used for Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force case work.

The deputy had access to the fake Facebook account and logged in, finding the alleged messages on the account, according to the affidavit. He saved the evidence and reported his findings.

Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigates and prosecutes use of the internet to sexually exploit or entice children, according to its website. Indiana State Police oversees the department.

Bogenschutz previously worked as a member of the task force and gave a public seminar at Jay County Junior-Senior High School on social media safety for children in November. Prior to his time as a sheriff’s office deputy, he worked as a police officer in Redkey.

In March, Jay County Commissioners terminated a contract with Bogenschutz’s software and web design company, Emerald Business Solutions, for the sheriff’s office website.

Plans are for Bogenschutz to be transferred to Jay County Jail in the next few days. 

In Indiana, Level 6 felony sentences range from six months to 2.5 years, with an advisory sentence of one year.

Bogenschutz was suspended from Jay County Sheriff’s Office for five days in 2019 for acting improperly during a traffic stop in Clinton County. A concerned driver noted Bogenschutz speeding — at one point he reached 90 miles per hour in a 55 mph zone — and driving erratically without his lights or sirens on and took a video of the incident. Bogenschutz eventually pulled the driver over, berated him and refused to give his name and badge number when asked. (Video of the incident was aired first by Indianapolis TV station RTV6.)