State of North Dakota v. Ashley Peterson

Fargo, North Dakota criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with promoting a sexual performace by a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a child.



Ashley Jordan Peterson, 34, did not teach the student directly in a classroom but did interact with him numerous times as the school's positive behavior technician.



Peterson allegedly developed a relationship with the student at the center of the allegations that eventually turned inappropriate and sexual between April 28 and Oct. 9, 2023, prosecutors said. She then told her friend, Heather Cantrell, that a student sent her a nude photo of himself, prosecutors said.



Snapchat records were introduced to show that the two did not become friends on the app until June 2023.





The student told Peterson multiple times in person and on Snapchat that he wanted to sleep with her, but she refused, saying they had to wait until he was "18 and out of the building," according to his testimony. He also asked her to send him a nude photo, he testified in court.



"She sends him a nude photo and says, 'It's your turn,'" Neufeld said. "She knew what she was asking for."



The State asserted that, as an adult and educator, it was Peterson's responsibility to end the conversations instead of letting them go on for months,



Police were unable to obtain from Snapchat any illicit messages, photos or videos Peterson and the student allegedly exchanged, Justinger said. A detective testified that photos are irretrievable after 24 hours unless the user saves them.



There was no physical evidence of Peterson committing a crime. He questioned why police could not retrieve any inappropriate photos or messages when they had thousands of other messages from Peterson's and the student's conversations.

Not guilty.