A former middle school teacher from New Jersey, previously accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a student, now faces fresh charges. On Wednesday, prosecutors announced that these new charges include the production of child sexual abuse material.
Ashley Fisler, aged 36 and a resident of Washington Township, has been charged in a 12-count indictment. This indictment also encompasses charges of sexually assaulting a minor and engaging in a pattern of official misconduct, according to officials from the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.
According to information provided by the prosecutors, the alleged victim, who is currently an adult, informed authorities about an illegal sexual relationship he had with Fisler during his time at Orchard Valley Middle School, where she was his teacher.
Prosecutors further detailed that the victim recounted numerous instances of sexual encounters that purportedly occurred in Fisler’s vehicle and classroom during 2021.
In a sweeping indictment, former middle school teacher Ashley Fisler from New Jersey has been charged with new offenses linked to allegations of a sexual relationship with a student. (Washington Township School District; LinkedIn)
Investigators said they recovered text messages that allegedly demonstrated the unlawful nature of the relationship.
According to NJ Advance Media, prosecutors allege Fisler continued exchanging thousands of often sexually explicit text messages with the victim after he entered high school.
In one of the exchanges included in a tranche of roughly 7,500 pages of text messages collected by investigators, the former student wrote that the teacher left him mentally broken, the outlet reported.
Former teacher Ashley Fisler now faces a 12-count indictment that includes charges of sexual assault of a minor and manufacturing child sexual abuse material, prosecutors said. (LinkedIn)
Defense attorney Rocco Cipparone has argued prosecutors lack evidence to support the allegations, saying the text messages cited by investigators were taken out of context.
“The selective, salacious texts that were recited by the prosecution lack context,” Cipparone previously argued in court.
Fisler was arrested in March and initially charged with six counts of first-degree sexual assault of a minor, one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of second-degree official misconduct.
Prosecutors allege the unlawful relationship began while Ashley Fisler was teaching at Orchard Valley Middle School in Gloucester County, New Jersey. (Washington Township School District)
The superseding indictment added charges of second-degree pattern of official misconduct, first-degree manufacturing child sexual abuse material, third-degree possession of child sexual abuse material, and third-degree distribution of obscenity to a minor.
If convicted, each first-degree charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The second-degree charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years, while each third-degree charge carries a maximum sentence of five years.
Fisler taught social studies in the Washington Township school district from 2014 until June 2023, according to an online resume.
She is no longer employed by the Washington Township School District or any other school district, according to officials.