The lawyer of a New Jersey middle school teacher who is accused of grooming her student from when he was 12 years old claimed the alleged victim was complicit and 'not a babe in the woods'.
Rocco Cipparone, Ashley Fisler's attorney, defended his client in court on Wednesday during a virtual hearing that lasted roughly an hour, according to the New York Post.
Fisler, who was employed at Orchard Valley Middle School, was arrested on March 23 after her alleged victim claimed they were in a sexual relationship in 2021 while he was her student and had sex with him at least six times.
A portion of the hearing centered around the 7,500 text messages exchanged between the former teacher and the boy.
'He's not texting like a kid...his texts are as graphic and direct as any I've seen from an adult,' Cipparone said.
'I'm not saying he's not the age he is, but this is not a babe in the woods scenario that Ms. Finley is creating from a risk and a danger perspective.'
However, Gloucester County prosecutor Kylie Finley claimed that other messages allegedly showed Fisler offering to shave the boy's pubic hair and buy him sex toys, according to the outlet.
Additional texts allegedly showed her asking the boy to describe sexual encounters he experienced with girls his age, asking him to send him photos of himself, and recommending provocative movies for him to watch.
Finley said that the boy tried to break the relationship off several times, but the teacher continued pursuing the relationship.
The teen said that Fisler 'stripped me of my innocence,' in one of the messages.
Cipparone accused Finley of selectively choosing messages that he claimed were out of context to make the situation appear worse.
The defense attorney added that there was no evidence proving that Fisler had sexually assaulted the boy before he was a teen.
The messages between the social studies teachers confirmed to investigators in January that their relationship was inappropriate after the alleged victim described numerous sexual encounters with her in her vehicle and classroom.
A detective stated that nude photographs of the teacher were sent to the victim, according to an affidavit cited by NJ.com.
The former 36-year-old teacher denied the claim to officials in a statement on March 19, according to the affidavit, cited by NJ.com
Fisler was hit with six counts of first-degree sexual assault of a minor, one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, and an additional count of second-degree official misconduct of a public servant.
She denied the allegations in a statement to authorities on March 19, according to the affidavit.
The former teacher now faces up to 20 years if convicted on the sexual assault charges. She faces another 10 years for both second-degree charges.
She remains behind bars at Salem County Jail as Judge William Ziegler determines whether she can be released on bail.