NJ teacher Ashley Fisler indicted on child sexual abuse material charges

A former New Jersey middle school teacher accused of having a sexual relationship with a student was indicted Wednesday on new charges including producing child sexual abuse materials, prosecutors said.

Ashley Fisler, 36, of Washington Township, now faces a 12-count indictment that includes sexual assault of a minor and a pattern of official misconduct, according to the Gloucester County District Attorney’s Office.

The alleged victim, now an adult, told police she had an illicit sexual relationship with Fisler when she was a minor and that Fisler was her teacher at Orchard Valley Middle School, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said the victim described multiple sexual incidents that allegedly occurred in Fisler’s vehicle and classroom in 2021.

NEW JERSEY MIDDLE SCHOOL TEACHER ACCUSED OF CHILD GENDER ATTACK AFTER ALLEGED SEXUAL ACTIVITY WITH HIS STUDENT

Investigators said they found text messages that allegedly revealed the relationship was unlawful.

Accordingly NJ Advanced MediaProsecutors allege Fisler continued to exchange thousands of sexually explicit text messages with the victim after she entered high school.

In one of the conversations included in nearly 7,500 pages of text messages collected by investigators, the former student wrote that the teacher broke him down mentally, media reported.

NEW JERSEY TEACHER WHO SLEPT WITH STUDENTS IN HIS FAMILY BAKERY STORE LEARNED HIS PRISON SENTENCE

Former teacher Ashley Fisler now faces a 12-count indictment that includes charges of sexual assault of a minor and producing child sexual abuse material, prosecutors said. (LinkedIn)

Defense attorney Rocco Cipparone argued prosecutors lacked evidence to support the allegations, saying text messages cited by investigators were taken out of context.

Cipparone had previously argued in court that “the selective, suggestive texts read by the prosecution lacked context.”

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.

HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ASSAULT OF HIS FORMER YOUNG STUDENT AT HIS HOME

Prosecutors allege the illicit relationship began while Ashley Fisler was teaching at Orchard Valley Middle School in Gloucester County, New Jersey. (Washington County School District)

The superseding indictment added charges of second-degree official misconduct, first-degree producing 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 in prison, while the third-degree charges each carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

Fisler taught social studies in the Washington Township school district from 2014 to June 2023, according to an online resume.

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According to officials, he is no longer employed by the Washington Township School District or any other school district.

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.