Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Married Teacher Had Sex With Student in Classroom: Police

Episode Date: March 30, 2026

Ashley Fisler, 36, faces several felony charges including aggravated sexual assault after a former student came forward in January and said they had sexual encounters in her car and classroom. Fisler is no longer a teacher at Orchard Valley Middle School in Gloucester County, New Jersey. She quit teaching in 2023. The now adult accuser said the encounters happened in 2021. Fisler denied the claims. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through the evidence police say they have in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code CRIMEFIX at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/crimefixHost:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest: Mark Weaver https://x.com/MarkRWeaverCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Daniel CamachoGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A former student and allegations that didn't just cross a line, but may have turned into a sexual relationship, including encounters that police say happened inside the teacher's classroom. Investigators say there are messages, even photos. So what exactly does he claim happened between them? I've got the affidavit and the allegations. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy, and this is crime fix. You know, you would be shocked if you logged on to the internet and searched yourself. Things like your name, your phone number, even your home address. It can be floating around the internet for data brokers to sell or scammers to steal. Our sponsor in Cogni lets you take back control. They find which data brokers have your info and they demand

they remove it. When I signed up, they actually found more than 50 brokers with my information. And within days, it started disappearing from the web. Setup takes just minutes, create an account, authorize Incogni to act for you, and they do the rest. And with their new Unlimited Plans custom removals feature, you can submit custom links where your data shows up and a team of privacy experts will remove it for you. So if you care about your online safety and you really should, take your data back with Incogny. Use Code Crime Fix for 60% off an annual plan. Ashley Sulla Fisler was a middle school social studies teacher for several years, but her time teaching ended after nine years in 2023, and her LinkedIn page says she moved on to other things.

We may now have an idea of why. Ashley Fisler is a 36-year-old married woman, and she now faces several felony charges in New Jersey, including three counts of aggravated sexual assault in the first degree. A probable cause affidavit claims the alleged sexual assault happened back in 2021 when the accuser, who is now an adult, was a student of Fisler's at Orchard Valley Middle School in Gloucester County. The affidavit states, on Friday, January 23rd, 2026, the Gloucester County Prosecutors Office and Washington Township Police Department investigated a sexual assault case involving a former middle school teacher identified as Ashley Fisler. The now adult victim was interviewed and indicated that while the victim was a minor and a student of Fisler's,

the two of them engaged in an inappropriate relationship, resulting in them having sexual intercourse on two separate occasions. Ashley Fisler also performed a sex act on the victim during this incident. Both incidents occurred in her vehicle. The victim additionally disclosed that on two separate occasions, the suspect Ashley Fisler performed a sex act on the victim, while in her classroom. So this was reported to police in Washington Township, where the middle school is located in late January, 2026, and it appears the investigation moved rather quickly with an

interview of the accuser and a download of electronic devices, according to the detective. The affidavit continues, the Gloucester County Prosecutor's Office High Tech Crimes Unit, assisted with the investigation, and conducted a forensic analysis of digital devices belonging to the victim, As a result of the examination, numerous text messages between the victim and Ashley Fisler were recovered, which confirmed the existence of a sexual relationship between them. In addition, multiple nude photographs of Ashley Fisler were identified as having been sent to the victim. On Thursday, March 19, 26, Ashley Fisler provided a statement during which time she denied the allegations made against her by the victim. Ashley Fisler, the former middle school social studies teacher, was booked into the county jail. On aggravated sexual assault charges, she also faces two other felony charges, including

endangering sexual contact with a caretaker and official misconduct. A judge laid out the charges against Fisler at her initial appearance. We have the audio from that hearing. Take a listen. I'm Judge Lopez. I'm going to be presiding over this matter today. The purpose of this hearing, ma'am, is to advise you of the charges against you. to advise you of the maximum penalty should you be convicted of those charges, to ensure that you have been advised of certain rights that you have, and to advise you of your next court date.

And with that, ma'am, I want to advise you. You have been charged with violating statute 2C, c-14-2A, subsection 2B. Ma'am, that is aggravated sexual assault on a victim who is greater than or equal to 13 years of age and less than 16 years of age, where the actor, has supervisory or disciplinary power over the victim by virtue of the actor's legal, professional, or occupational status. Man, that is a crime in the first degree. You've been charged six times with violating that statute. First degree offenses carry a maximum of 20 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of $200,000.

You have also been charged with two second degree offenses. The first is violating statute 2C, colon, 20. 24-4A1, which is endangering sexual contact with a child by a caretaker. The second is violating statute 2C, colon 30-2A, official misconduct. For each one of these two second-degree offenses, carries a maximum of 10 years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $150,000. Ma'am, it is my understanding that you had an opportunity to either watch or listen to an informational video today. Am I correct?

Yes. Yes. Okay. So one of the things that was mentioned in the video is the fact that you cannot be detained today unless the state has filed a motion seeking that you be detained pending the resolution of these charges. At this time, ma'am, I want to inform you that the state has in fact filed that motion. What that means is that you cannot be released today. There's nothing you can say today, nothing your attorney can argue on your behalf today that's going to change the that fact. However, there is a detention motion hearing. It is scheduled for April 1st before Judge Ziegler. On that date, that judge will determine whether you can be safely released or must

be detained pending trial. So the accuser was between the ages of 13 and 16 when these alleged sexual assaults occurred. And as I mentioned earlier, some of these incidents happened in Ashley Fisler's car, while others happened in her classroom. Speaking of her classroom, That room at the school could hold some sentimental value to Ashley Fisler. Back in 2018, it's where her now husband got down on one knee and popped the question. Yes, Ashley Fisler. She was Ashley Sulla then, received a marriage proposal from her now husband in her classroom. The very classroom police and prosecutors now say she used to sexually assault a student.

Ashley Fisler's sister-in-law actually posted a photo of the marriage proposal on her Facebook page back in 2018 with the caption. Another Fistler brother is tying the knot. Congratulations, Paul and Ashley. Ashley have had so much fun getting to know you over the past few years and you've always been a sister and a friend to me since day one. That was Paul's sister who posted that photo. And Ashley actually posed proudly with her husband on her Facebook page. They looked like they were very much in love. So let's get into this a little more deeply. I want to bring in Mark Weaver. He works as a special prosecutor in the state of Ohio sometimes as a judge and has prosecuted teachers for sex crimes. Mark, obviously, everybody's innocent until proven

guilty, but the police say they downloaded images and text messages from this former student's phone that show there was a sexual relationship here. Ashley Fisler denied it, according to the police. Your thoughts? Yeah, it reminds me of the kids who we catch with all the evidence of having, you know, done something wrong and they deny it. Their first instinct is denying it. We're living in a time now when the phone tells the story, when the Internet and the social media records tell the story. And, of course, we have the victim telling us the story. So her denial seems to me that it's a little dumb.

I mean, it's probably your first instinct to say, I didn't do it, I didn't know, please. It's why lawyers don't want their clients to say anything initially, typically, defense lawyers. But there's lots of evidence, and she will have a lot of explaining to do if the things that are discussed in the arrest warrant, the photos, the naked photos of her sending, the detailed accounts of where these illegal sexual acts took place. The evidence appears to be very strong in this case. Ashley Fisler is a married woman. She was a teacher, her resume says, at the school district, the Washington Township School

District from 2014 to 2023. Now we all can change careers in our lives, but typically you see people who get into the teaching profession, you know, they go 25 years, 30 years sometimes because they get into the pension system and everything. and they want to keep going to earn what they've earned to get their pension. She left after nine years. We don't really know why. The school district isn't going to tell us why.

She's not going to tell us why. Maybe she just decided I don't really enjoy this. But the allegation is that these sexual encounters in her car and in her classroom occurred in 2021. So that would have been two years later. Do you think we're going to find out that there might be some type of correlation? Yeah, it could be. This is one of those things where once she's done it, because the statute of limitations is so long, I think it's actually for the most serious of the crimes.

There is no statute in New Jersey for this. And the other statute of limitations don't even start running until the child turns 18. If you did it when you were younger, that's one of those things that's like a ticking time bomb that's out there, that if this minor comes forward, he's an adult. now but if this minor comes forward with these allegations and if there's evidence of it I'm kind of surprised how much evidence there have given how far back this goes it's one of the challenges we as prosecutors face when we have phones is finding recent evidence because depending on what's the settings in

the phone are stuff from two three four five years ago may have been long since deleted not on purpose but just as things overwritten so I will be interested as I follow this case to find out how they got this digital evidence that's so old it suggests that perhaps the student maybe kept these these images and these records and that's kind of what I'm wondering at the student would have been in somewhere probably in the eighth grade we're thinking he was between the ages of 13 and 16 according to the statute and so So she was an eighth grade social studies teacher.

The allegation is that there were two things that happened, two sexual encounters in her car, and then one in her classroom. You know, the classroom, if you're in the classroom every day, you're going to be able to describe the classroom. But if this former student, who's now an adult, can describe the interior of the vehicle and describe her vehicle. I mean, there's really no reason for a student, this former student, to have been in her vehicle. And then you have this other evidence that the cops say they have, the photos, the texts, this type of stuff. That's a lot of evidence. So talk to me about,

you know, what do you do with that as a prosecutor and a defense attorney? I know you don't work as a defense attorney, but you deal with defense attorneys. Yeah, these are he said, she said cases, except when we have digital evidence. So juries tend to be smart. Most of the juries I've presented in front of over the years are smart. And they know what's up. They know that there's rarely videotape of a crime. I'll talk about that in my jury selection sometimes with potential jurors. Do you really need videotape to decide whether this happened or not? What did people do 50 years ago before there was videotape available. And most common sense people will say,

now I can probably figure this out. So if it was just he said, she said, then it's kind of one level of proof. But with this other digital evidence, her sending naked photos to him, if in fact the digital devices show that, suggests a sexual relationship. And that's all jurors need to know

to connect the dots and say, this is more than just he said, she said. Ashley Fisler, you know, she was Ashley Sulla before she was married, but Ashley Fisler, that's her married name, you know, she was a decorated teacher. Her resume said she won the most caring award. She was a two-time nominee for Teacher of the Year. So it seemed like she was well liked and successful. You know, it seems like we often see teachers, who are decorated teachers, I mean, who get into this trouble. I think I covered one recently.

It was the Good Apple teacher accused of doing some accused of sex crimes. What is up with that? Yeah, it's important for parents to get out of their head sort of this image of a child molester as being sort of a dirty person dressed in all black who's hiding behind a bush or something. I've worked on cases both as a prosecutor and as somebody coming alongside a school district when one of their teachers has violated the law, where the teachers who were charged were some of the favorite teachers in the buildings. And in one case I can think of the parents would lobby the principal to get their child

into that particular teacher's class. And so we know there are things like the good guy offender. or in this case the good gal offender. And remember, people are not cartoon characters. It's entirely possible to be a caring, supportive teacher who wants your kids to learn and gives them extra attention on their homework or their tests in a very appropriate way.

And in a small, dark corner of your life, commit crimes like this. So we have to be able to see the whole picture here. One of the most shocking things about this, too, is the fact that, and maybe it's really not that shocking. But we have Ashley Fisler, this teacher who left the teaching profession after nine years, which I just find odd. I find it odd. Maybe she just didn't like it anymore. But I think there may be more there there.

We'll eventually find out. I don't know that, but it just seems weird because most of the time when people get into teaching, they stick with it because they get their summers off and they get a pension. But, you know, her husband, now husband, got down on one knee and proposed to her in this classroom. There's a picture of it on Facebook, you know, we showed it earlier. And it's just kind of bizarre to me that she, it's probably, you know, likely the classroom where this alleged assault happened back in 2021. And here she she is in 2018 her husband now husband is down on bended knee proposing popping the question to her in her classroom and now and then three years later she's accused of sexually assaulting a student

in that very classroom well law enforcement sometimes has to come up with theories as we try to understand our cases and here's a theory i don't have i have a couple of facts based on what we know it's entirely possible that as a young 20-something, her judgment was still very poor, her brain was still not fully developed, and she's making impulsive and bad decisions before she's married. And then as she got older and matured, she realized that this was a terrible mistake. And then she got married, maybe to a good guy, and now she's living a better life. Returning to the scene of this dark decision she made every day,

and looking over in that one part of the classroom, allegedly she performed the sexual act on the student might have bothered her so much that she simply wanted to change the scenery and not have that terrible mistake criminal mistake in her face all the time well it I mean it just it I mean maybe it's possible maybe that's what this defense will be at this point though she told the cops this didn't this didn't happen I mean maybe maybe the defense is yeah I made a mistake and sent some pictures but I didn't I didn't have sex with this kid in the classroom I would I would never which is really difficult because sending naked pictures and

dirty texts it's like what why would you even do that if those things do indeed exist as the detective said in his affidavit she I mean she's she's charged with incredibly serious crimes first degree aggravated sexual assault of somebody between the ages of 13 and 16 and then misconduct, you know, this professional misconduct because she's somebody who's like a public employee entrusted to care for children. And then this, you know, caretaker statute she's accused of violating two. All of these are first and second degree felonies. So if convicted, if she even goes to trial, which I'm not going to see that happening, she's going to prison for decades, if at trial.

Yeah, and Jenna, this is why your viewers love watching you and you get so many views is because you think like a lawyer, even though you're not a lawyer. Early in your comment there, you raised the only possible defense that she can make, which is admit to the obvious crime, sending of nude photos, and deny the rest and hope to create reasonable doubt. Now, the prosecutors will not cut that deal. I don't know them, but they'd be foolish to say, okay, we'll let you plead out. out to the naked photos and we're going to dismiss these more serious con we call them conduct

charges that's not going to happen so you've identified naturally what the one defense is going to be is yep you got me on the photos but there's other stuff I didn't do that's pretty common for defense lawyers to admit to the obvious and deny the less obvious you know and a friend of mine who's a man texted me about this the other night and said this happened in 2021. But why is this person coming forward now? It's five years later. And so I don't find that all that unusual. Sometimes people mature and they may feel some guilt and shame. And this friend of mine said, oh, I doubt there's any shame. But, but Mark, you know, it doesn't identify this student, this former student as a man or a woman, you know, we can assume it's a male student.

We don't know that for certain. But, I mean, there's still, I mean, there's that old kind of like misnomer, like, oh, where was she when I was in high school? But, I mean, we're talking in middle school. We're talking this student was in middle school when this happened. So it talked to me about that, like the misnomer that there isn't some guilt or shame or some weirdness. You know, it's still a sexual assault. This would have been probably around a 14-year-old kid at the time. Yeah. Long crime viewers watched your coverage of a case I prosecuted last summer. I want to say it's last summer. It's been a while. A teacher and a wrestling coach married, sexually abusing multiple wrestlers as young as 13 over a period of years.

And in my sentencing, so I was able to convict both of them, they're in prison now, but in my sentencing memo to the court, you don't have to file a memo, but I often do. I listed out over three or four paragraphs all of the songs, movies, books, TV shows that glamorize male students having sex with female teachers and pointed out that it's just as sick as the other way around, even though. society says it's the other way around. This is a child. I'm a parent, you're a parent. Many of the people watching us right now are parents. We know how vulnerable these children are. They're often vulnerable all the way through high school just because they have adult bodies. They don't have adult psyches. So she's the one who's supposed to know better. She's the one who's responsible. And with this evidence, you're right, she could do, absent a very good plea deal, she could do 30, 40, even 50 years in prison with lifetime sex offender registration.

It's really disturbing. And I'm doing the math here. This person, if they were 14 when this happened, because they were between 13 and 16, and I'm thinking, you know, that's what the statute said. And if you're in eighth grade, you turn 14 typically. This person is now 19 years old, this accuser. So this person may be a little older now in thinking like, I'm creeped out that this happened to me. Like, and who knows if there's been any contact since? We don't know that.

Yeah. We've seen that before where there's content after the contact after the leave school. With many of the child sex victims I've worked with as a prosecutor, they are in the process of counseling and their counselors will often encourage them to report. And so only rarely, you know, maybe in 30% of the cases I've worked on, is the child, you know, offended against on a Monday. And we have the child at a, what's called a sane exam, a sexual assault nurse examiner exam, Monday night. And we have an arrest Tuesday. We have an arraignment on Wednesday.

That's rare. What's much more typical is the student is ashamed or afraid to tell somebody. And only eventually tells a friend or sometimes a person. or sometimes a parent, and then there's counseling, and then the counselor encourages them to report. So it's entirely possible that's what happened here. Yeah, most certainly. Well, it's really a sad state of affairs,

and we'll keep an eye on it because she's in jail right now. She's not being let out, and there's a detention hearing later this week, and they'll decide whether or not she gets bail, and we'll see if she is able to post the bail that I'm sure she'll be given. bail. But we'll see whether she can post it and go from there. Mark Weaver. Thank you so much for your time and your expertise. Thank you. So for now, Ashley Fisler remains behind bars. She'll be back in court on April 1st for a detention hearing. At that time, a judge will decide whether or not she should be released on bail or not. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy.

Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.