PALMER TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The stepfather of a Northampton County teenager who vanished earlier this year and was later found safe in Georgia has been charged with illegally recording conversations with police during the search for her.
John Gehrmann, 44, of Palmer Township, was charged with intercepting and disclosing private phone conversations he had with local police about his stepdaughter, Enci “Aubrey” Wu.
Authorities stated that Gehrmann recorded the calls without the officers’ knowledge or consent, a violation of Pennsylvania’s wiretap law, which requires all parties to consent to the recording of private conversations.
Gehrmann was charged with two counts each of intercepting communications and disclosing the contents of those communications, both third-degree felonies. He was arraigned Thursday by District Judge Susan Hutnik and released without bail.
The charges stem from conversations Gehrmann had with Palmer Township police during the early stages of the investigation into Wu’s disappearance.
In a separate case from February, Gehrmann was charged with harassment after Pennsylvania State Police at Fogelsville said he targeted a South Whitehall Township family online. Investigators said he made derogatory comments and threatened to hunt a person’s family. That case was transferred to Lehigh County Court.
Wu’s disappearance drew widespread attention across the region and on social media. The 16-year-old left her home Jan. 10 and was last seen the next day on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township, prompting a large-scale search and public appeals for help.
Authorities said she was found safe on April 14 in Georgia.
Gehrmann’s preliminary hearing has not yet been scheduled.
