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

WASHINGTON - John Aaron Gass, 35, of Hyattsville, Maryland, a former high school history teacher, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to charges related to the sexual abuse of a student, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

Gass pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan to Coercion and Enticement of a Minor. Judge Sooknanan scheduled sentencing for Dec. 11, 2026.

According to court papers, Gass worked as a history teacher at the District of Columbia International School, a charter school in Northwest, until November 2025. Beginning in the spring of 2025, Gass began communicating with a 16-year-old student outside of school.

Gass met with the victim on multiple occasions to sexually abuse her, including at her home where he entered through her bedroom window late at night.

On at least two occasions, Gass recorded videos of the abuse using the victim's phone. He also exchanged sexually explicit images with the victim, court papers state.

Gass was arrested at his home in Maryland in December 2025 after the victim disclosed the abuse.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, with assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department.

The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Rachel Bohlen.

This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

25cr396