Assistant principal accused of raping teen won’t go to prison, Missouri officials say

An assistant principal in Missouri accused of rape and sodomy of a student won’t go to prison.

Instead, she’ll serve two years of probation.

Elizabeth “Beth” Giesler is the former assistant principal at Ste. Genevieve Middle School in eastern Missouri, The Kansas City Star reported. In 2018, she was charged with sexual contact with a student, statutory sodomy and statutory rape, according to the newspaper.

Giesler was accused of a having three sexual encounters with a 16-year-old boy, including performing a sex act on him and engaging in sexual intercourse twice in her home in Ste. Genevieve County, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

She took an Alford plea on Tuesday, court records show. In an Alford plea, the defendant doesn’t admit guilt but accepts that there’s enough evidence to find guilt if the case goes to trial.

In addition to the two years of probation, Giesler agreed to voluntarily surrender her teacher’s license, records show.

Ste. Genevieve County Prosecuting Attorney Wayne Williams said he considered Giesler’s lack of criminal history and losing her teaching license in accepting the plea, according to the Daily Journal.

“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,” Williams told the Daily Journal. “That was basically her livelihood, and she had to surrender that.”

Ste. Genevieve County is about 60 miles south of St. Louis.

This story was originally published February 13, 2020 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Assistant principal accused of raping teen won’t go to prison, Missouri officials say."