A teacher arrested in New Jersey after allegedly having sex with one of her pupils has accused the victim of sending lewd text messages.
Ashley Fiesler, 36, is accused of grooming a boy since he was 12 and then having sex with him at least six times.
However, his lawyer claims that the victim is involved because he sent several lewd X-rated messages to the teacher.
The former social studies teacher at Orchard Valley Middle School in Washington Township went before a judge on Wednesday and spoke only to confirm her identity.
According to county prosecutor Kylie Finley, the pair exchanged approximately 7,500 text messages over a six-year period.
The content of these messages included offers to buy her a sex toy and to cut her pubic hair.
In other disturbing messages, prosecutors allege she asked the boy to describe sexual relationships he had with other girls his age.
She also gave him recommendations for spicy movies and even asked her to send him her photos.
His defense lawyer, Rocco Cipparone, said: “He is not sending messages like a child.
“His texts are as graphic and direct as I have seen from an adult.
“I’m not saying he hasn’t come of age yet, but this is not the scenario of a child living in the woods that Ms. Finley is creating from the perspective of risk and danger.”
“What is missing from the state’s evidence is that it is the contextual, selective, sexualized texts that will be challenged,” he said.
When the victim turned 16, Fischler allegedly had sex with her in his car and in a school classroom.
To make matters worse, the teen “tried several times to break off the relationship” but Fiesler would not allow it.
In a heartbreaking message, the boy wrote: “You took away my innocence from me.”
However, Cipparone has accused Finley of arbitrarily selecting messages and making them look worse by taking them out of context.
He also claimed that there was no evidence that Fiesler had sexually assaulted the boy when he was a teenager.
Judge William Ziegler signed a restraining order barring Fischler from having any contact with the victim.
He is now behind bars while the judge decides whether he can be released on bail.
Until then, Fiesler has been charged with first-degree sexual assault of a minor.
He is also charged with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child and one count of second-degree official misconduct.
If convicted, the top charge could see him spend 20 years in prison, while both second-degree charges carry a maximum sentence of 10 years.
