A former New Jersey middle school teacher already facing accusations of an unlawful sexual relationship with a student has been indicted on additional charges, including manufacturing child sexual abuse material, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
Ashley Fisler, 36, of Washington Township, is now named in a 12-count indictment that also charges her with sexual assault of a minor and a pattern of official misconduct, according to the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutors said the case began after the alleged victim, now an adult, told police that he had an unlawful sexual relationship with Fisler when he was a minor and she was his teacher at Orchard Valley Middle School.
The alleged victim described multiple encounters that prosecutors say occurred in 2021, including incidents said to have taken place in Fisler’s vehicle and inside her classroom.
Ashley Fisler, a former New Jersey middle school teacher, was indicted on new charges tied to allegations that she had a sexual relationship with a student. (Washington Township School District; LinkedIn)
Investigators also reported recovering text messages that they say helped establish the unlawful nature of the alleged relationship.
NJ Advance Media reported that prosecutors claim Fisler continued to exchange thousands of messages, many allegedly sexually explicit, with the former student after he moved on to high school.
Among roughly 7,500 pages of text messages gathered by investigators, one exchange cited by the outlet included the former student writing that the teacher had left him mentally broken.
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)
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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.
