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Crime & Courts

Former D.C. High School Teacher Pleads Guilty to Coercing and Enticing a Minor

John Aaron Gass, 35, admitted to charges stemming from the sexual abuse of a 16-year-old student, according to federal court records.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 20, 2026, 8:58 a.m. ET
John Aaron Gass, 35, of Hyattsville, Maryland, a former history teacher at the District of Columbia International School, guilty on August 10, 2026, to Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, according to official court documents announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. The developing case remains open in U.S. District Court, where U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan scheduled sentencing for Dec. 11, 2026. According to court documents, Gass worked as a history teacher at the charter school in Northwest D.C. until November 2025. Beginning in the spring of 2025, Gass began communicating outside of school with a 16-year-old student and met with her on multiple occasions to sexually abuse her, including entering her home through her bedroom window late at night. Court documents state that Gass exchanged sexually explicit images with the victim and used her phone to record videos of the abuse on at least two occasions. Authorities arrested Gass at his Maryland home in December 2025 after the victim disclosed the abuse. The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington Field Office's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Bohlen under the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative.

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  1. Version 120 Aug 2026, 12:58current

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