FARGO (KFGO/KVRR) – A Cass County jury has acquitted a former Fargo Public Schools employee who was accused of exchanging nudes with a student.
Ashley Peterson, 34, was fired from her role as a positive behavior technician at Davies High School in October 2023. She was charged with felony promoting a sexual performance by a minor and misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The defense used their closing arguments to accuse the student of having no credibility and consistency in his story.
“But not only does he lie on Snapchat, he lied under oath to all of us. Not a minor anymore, is an adult. He stood in front of the court and he took the oath. An oath punishable by the penalty of perjury,” Peterson’s attorney Adam Justinger said.
The prosecution instructed the jury to ignore the sex of the two individuals involved and that they proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
“It is irrelevant that Ms. Peterson is a female teacher and this is a male student. It is irrelevant that wanted to participate in it. The law has been given to you. Each element has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt and you are required to render a verdict of guilty,” prosecutor Ashlei Neufeld told the jury.
“You can’t have this both ways. It’s either this giant conspiracy that has somehow managed to loop her best friend into, or Ashley’s the victim,” Neufeld added.
After closing arguments, the jury went into deliberations for about 4 hours before reaching a verdict. Peterson stood emotionless as each charge was read with a not guilty verdict, but soon broke down as they adjourned.
“We would like to thank the jury for their time. We know that they took a lot of attention to this matter. We believe that they got the decision right,” Justinger said after the trial ended.
Peterson was also Fargo Schools Superintendent Rupak Gandhi’s live-in nanny for his children. The Gandhi family fired Peterson shortly after she was fired from Davies High School.
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