More charges for a former teacher accused of molestation. John Gisler faced a judge Friday for his preliminary hearing. Fox 23’s Douglas Clark has the latest from outside the Tulsa County Courthouse.
Former teacher John Gisler will now face one count of lewd molestation for allegedly showing adult porn to a minor. This is now the fifth count Gisler faces, in addition to 3 counts of child sexual abuse and one count of posession of child porn.
Assistant D.A. Jake Cain, who is the prosecutor in this case, said crimes like this can be hard to prosecute.
“More times than not, it comes down to a child’s word against an adult’s word. We’re going to be asking the citizens of Oklahoma to believe a child’s word. Typically, the adult will deny he did this,” says Cain.
During Friday’s preliminary hearing, the court heard testimony from a professor of pediatrics and a child pornography specialist. He identified 38 images taken from Gisler’s computer as child porn.
Gisler taught at Whitney Middle School in Tulsa. But he’s accused of molesting a teenage boy he mentored at Big Brothers Big Sisters. The alleged abuse started in 2006 when the boy was 14.
“The child is older now. The abuse started when he was younger. The child is 17 at this point in time. He is a little more inclined to be able to handle the pressure as opposed to a 5 or 6-year-old,” says Cain.
According to the affidavit, during a phone call taped by police, Gisler threatened suicide and begged the victim not to tell anyone about the alleged abuse, fearing he could lose his job.
The tulsa school board voted in August to fire Gisler from his teaching job at Whitney Middle School.
Despite the additional charge, Gisler’s bond remains at $250,000. He is still behind bars. Gisler will be back in district court on Tuesday for his arraignment.
