A former assistant principal was sentenced to two years probation Tuesday for allegedly having sex with a student in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, in 2018.
“Elizabeth Giesler entered an Alford plea this week to one count of second-degree harassment in which she didn’t admit guilt but accepted that there’s enough evidence to convict her,” according to Fox 2.
In 2018, Giesler allegedly had three sexual encounters with a 16-year-old male student, the Kansas City Star reported.
The former Ste. Genevieve Middle School employee was initially charged with sexual contact with a student, statutory sodomy, and statutory rape.
In May of that year, the student told Trooper T.S. Craig that Giesler had performed a sex act on him inside her home between April 7 and 8, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The student was reportedly staying with the family at the time of the alleged incidents, according to the Daily Journal.
“A friend of the victim reportedly told school officials that the victim disclosed that he had sexual contact with Gieser [sic], according to Ste. Genevieve County Prosecuting Attorney Wayne Williams,” the report said.
Giesler reportedly worked as a teacher in the Liberty School District prior to being hired by Ste. Genevieve Schools in 2014.
In addition to her two-year probation sentence, she agreed to voluntarily surrender her teaching license.
Williams noted that he considered several factors before deciding to move forward with the plea deal.
He stated:
As a prosecuting attorney, I’m considering several things. Number one was the fact that the defendant doesn’t have any prior criminal history whatsoever.
I also took into consideration in extending this recommendation on misdemeanor harassment that it was conditioned upon her giving up her teaching credentials. And part of my thinking on that was, “OK, I’m trying to help this victim and looking at helping other potential victims if she remained in her employment status.”
I think that it was a priority for me as a prosecuting attorney looking at other potential victims she might encounter.
The attorney said the safety of the entire community was a major factor in his decision.
“Some people might not understand the bargain that was struck in this case unless they really understand what she had to give up voluntarily to get that bargain. That was basically her livelihood, and she had to surrender that,” he explained.
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