A former New Jersey middle school teacher, Ashley Fisler, 36, has been indicted on new charges, including manufacturing child sexual abuse material. The Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office announced the 12-count indictment on Wednesday, which also includes charges of sexual assault of a minor and a pattern of official misconduct.
Prosecutors allege that the victim, now an adult, reported an unlawful sexual relationship with Fisler while he was a minor and she was his teacher at Orchard Valley Middle School. The alleged incidents reportedly occurred in 2021 in Fisler's vehicle and classroom. Investigators recovered text messages that purportedly demonstrate the unlawful nature of the relationship, with reports indicating that Fisler continued to exchange thousands of sexually explicit messages with the victim after he entered high school.
Defense attorney Rocco Cipparone contends that the prosecution lacks sufficient evidence, asserting that the text messages were taken out of context. Fisler was initially arrested in March and charged with six counts of first-degree sexual assault of a minor, among other charges. The new indictment adds 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, the first-degree charges could result in a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
Fisler taught social studies in the Washington Township school district from 2014 until June 2023 and is no longer employed by any school district.