A former Johnson County government employee is facing three counts of crimes against a child.
Christopher Wehunt was charged last month with three counts of sexually exploiting a child for allegedly coercing a minor under the age of 18 into performing sexual acts and possessing a video of the child engaging in a sexually explicit act.
The alleged crimes happened between Aug. 1 and Oct. 11 of last year, according to court records.
On April 14, Wehunt made his first appearance in Johnson County District Court in front of Judge Michael P. Joyce.
Wehunt worked for Johnson County government in the county’s emergency communications center from Jan. 1, 2015, until Oct. 21, 2024, according to KCTV.
Wehunt’s ex-girlfriend reported the alleged crimes
In September 2024, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office received information from the Johnson County Government Human Resources Department regarding a tip the department had received about Wehunt committing illegal activities with a minor, according to court records.
An ex-girlfriend of Wehunt’s said that a 16-year-old child got in contact with her on the social media app Snapchat and told her that Wehunt had “done things that were inappropriate,” according to a criminal affidavit.
After the sheriff’s office made contact with the minor, she alleged Wehunt had requested nude photos from her more than 20 times over the course of a week.
“[The victim] told Wehunt several times that she was only 16 years old. He responded that her young age ‘made it even better,'” according to court documents.
The girld told investigators that Wehunt would get angry if she refused to send the photos, according to the affidavit. He also sent her photos and video of himself performing sexual acts.
Wehunt allegedly did similar activities with other minors through Snapchat, according to communications discovered by Sheriff’s investigators on Wehunt’s phone.
Affidavit says Wehunt admitted to requesting images
When detectives made contact with Wehunt, he admitted to requesting nude photographs from underage girls, with their ages ranging from 13 to 17, according to the criminal affidavit in the case.
When asked how many girls within that age range he had requested nude images or videos from, he “hesitated and stated the ‘ballpark’ was ten,” according to the affidavit. Wehunt told detectives about half of the minors he contacted had sent him photos,
Wehunt is out on bond
On April 14, Wehunt was released on a $20,000 bond.
As part of his bond conditions, Wehunt cannot consume alcohol, have any contact with victims or witnesses in their residences or places of employment and have no contact with children except per civil court orders
He also cannot possess firearms or be in possession of a computer or use the internet
What’s next
A bond hearing for Wehunt is scheduled for 8:45 a.m. on Tuesday.
He is also set to have a preliminary hearing at 2 p.m. on May 22.
