A New Jersey middle school teacher is facing 12 sex-related charges after a former student accused her of assault, with prosecutors pointing to thousands of pages of messages they say detail the alleged relationship.
Ashley Fisler, 36, was arrested in March after the former student, now an adult, reported that he had been involved in an unlawful sexual relationship with her while he was enrolled at Orchard Valley Middle School in Washington Township, New Jersey.
Fisler was indicted Wednesday on six counts of first-degree sexual assault of a minor, along with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of second-degree official misconduct.
The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office also added several charges earlier this week: second-degree pattern of 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.
Court records do not show that Fisler has entered a plea to the charges.
During an April court hearing, Assistant Prosecutor Kylie Finley referenced 7,500 pages of sexually suggestive texts and messages, including communications in which the former student described the emotional toll the alleged inappropriate relationship had taken on him.
Prosecutors allege Fisler sexually assaulted the student at least four times in 2021 and 2022, with the incidents said to have occurred in her vehicle and in her classroom.
Finley said the communications continued even after the alleged victim was no longer in Fisler’s class, NJ Advance reported.
‘In December of 2023, the victim confides in the defendant that he’s struggling in school because he’s getting erections more frequently in school. And the defendant’s response was quote, ‘Oh my God, that’s fantastic,” Finley said.
Ashley Fisler, 36, faces 12 counts of sex abuse charges for allegedly assaulting and grooming one of her former middle school students
Fisler appeared distraught during a virtual court hearing in April where she was denied bail. She will await her trial behind bars
Prosecutors presented 7,500 pages of texts between Fisler and her former student, alleging a pattern of abuse continuing for years
Prosecutors said Fisler also allegedly sent incriminating photos to the student while he was a minor and offered to buy a sex toy for him.
‘I’ve had to try really hard to rebuild the things you broke inside of me. You destroyed things inside of me. You stripped me of my innocence,’ the student said in a text sent in January.
Fisler then allegedly admitted in the messages to putting her student ‘in positions that she shouldn’t have,’ writing in one message, ‘I feel like I forced you to grow up abnormally quick.’
Fisler’s attorney, Rocco Cipparone, argued that the ‘selective, salacious texts’ presented by prosecutors lacked context.
Cipparone added that prosecutors did not present any texts from when the alleged assault occurred.
He also claimed the alleged victim in the case contacted an attorney before taking his case to police, which he argued suggests ‘there’s a potential monetary motive here.’
During a virtual court appearance where she was denied bail, Fisler was seen bursting into tears.
Fisler grimaced and rocked back and forth as the ruling was read out, with the judge noting how she successfully ‘covered her tracks’ for five years.
Fisler faces a slew of charges, including 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, according to prosecutors
Fisler was indicted on Wednesday. She now faces additional charges of second-degree pattern of 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
The judge added that the case against her was ‘strong’ and the ‘offenses charged are significant,’ before concluding that Fisler ‘must be detained.’
‘This was more than just six isolated and aberrant acts of sexual abuse against a minor,’ Finley argued during the hearing, according to Court TV.
‘This was a pattern of six years of grooming, manipulation and abuse by this defendant as a middle school teacher against one of her active and then former students.’
Fisler began her nine-year career with the Washington Township school district in 2014 and remained there until her separation in April 2023.
Social media posts show that her husband, Paul, even proposed to her in her classroom in 2018.
NJ Advance reported that a year later, one of her students described her as his hero in an essay contest, calling her a ‘protector.’
An online resume said that she was nominated twice for ‘Teacher of the Year’ while at the school and received an award for ‘Most Caring’ teacher.
She told police that she left the position because she ‘blurred the lines with another student,’ according to prosecutors.
Fisler taught at Orchard Valley Middle School in Washington Township, New Jersey. Social media posts show that her husband proposed to her in her classroom
Fisler and her husband, Paul, got engaged in 2018, according to social media posts. She left teaching in 2023
If convicted, Fisler faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. She is awaiting her trial at the Salem County Jail
Fisler said she purchased makeup for a female student to cover up a hickey. The student said she needed it so she would not get in trouble with her parents. Cipparone argued that Fisler had not done anything illegal.
After she left teaching, Fisler started an online clothing and jewelry business with her mother and worked as an office administrator, according to an online resume.
Fisler has been ordered to stay at the Salem County Jail until her trial. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Fisler’s representation for comment.
