More Local

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
• Former Marine to serve two years in jail for killing Albuquerque robber
• Wilson-Pearce battle for U.S. Senate exemplifies party's disparity

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

ALBUQUERQUE — A substitute teacher accused of secretly videotaping a young student has worked as a regular classroom teacher for years at Kit Carson and Atrisco elementary schools, Albuquerque Public Schools officials said today.

Robert Ashley, 63, who has told authorities he is a pedophile, was charged Monday with secretly videotaping a student while teaching at Atrisco.

Since August, Ashley was a substitute teacher at Atrisco. But he worked as a first-grade teacher at Atrisco from January to August 2007, said Rigo Chavez, district spokesman.

Ashley's assignment at Kit Carson was in special education from 1998 to 2001.

From 2005 to 2007, Ashley had "various substitute" jobs in the district, Chavez said. He did not provide the names of which schools hired Ashley during that time.

The state Public Education Department has opened an investigation into Ashley, who has active teaching licenses for elementary and secondary education, said Danielle Montoya, PED spokeswoman.

"Both of his licenses are still valid," she said.

The state investigation is being conducted by the department's Ethics Bureau, which has the power to revoke or suspend teaching licenses for ethics and criminal violations.

A charge of voyeurism was filed against Ashley after he told detectives Friday that he has ongoing sexual feelings for 8- and 9-year-old girls and that he has videotaped Atrisco students.

Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White said deputies found paperwork indicating Ashley also served as a teacher in California and possibly as a substitute teacher in Nevada and Colorado.

Sheriff's deputies attempted to arrest Ashley at his apartment in the Spring Creek complex at 5600 Gibson Road Northeast on Monday, but a neighbor told them he had moved.

White said his detectives are pursuing Ashley on the assumption that he fled, but they aren't ruling out that he might have moved because of unwanted attention.

At Atrisco Elementary on Tuesday, parents and students expressed concerns about Ashley and school safety, said Joseph Escobedo, a district spokesman.

"Rumors are flying and a lot of kids have expressed fear he might come back," Escobedo said. "The kids are scared he's going to come with a mask and take them."

A district police officer has been stationed at the school since Monday patrolling the campus, Escobedo said. Also, the district's crisis counseling team has been talking to teachers about how to address student fears.

No students or parents have reported that Ashley touched children inappropriately, he said.

Ashley was a popular teacher and the children often hugged him, Escobedo said.

"The children say he was so nice and they are confused about what's going on," Escobedo said.

"He seemed to be a normal elementary teacher."

According to an arrest warrant filed Monday in Metro Court, Ashley told investigators that he doesn't do well with women and "kids fill the void for me."

Under questioning, Ashley "quickly and repeatedly" told investigators that he likes 8- and 9-year old girls. He added he has a foot fetish that has "ruined his life," the complaint states.

He said he brought the video camera to school with the intent of videotaping a girl wearing flip-flops, and said he "doesn't `think' he would ever touch a kid," according to the complaint.

But Ashley also admitted to becoming sexually aroused by tickling girls' feet while they played on monkey bars, the complaint says. Investigators noted that the videotape showed that the camera was focused up a girl's skirt and that her underwear was briefly visible.

Ashley also admitted to filming children at the playground near his apartment and at baseball games.

"He explains that he uses the `super-zoom' feature of his camera to sit in the outfield and thinks it is humorous that people think he is filming the boys baseball game when he is, in fact, filming women and children in the stands," the complaint states.

An educational assistant found a backpack containing a concealed video camera in a teacher's lounge on Sept. 5. The bag was identified as Ashley's by a bookmark with his name on it that appeared to have been made by a student, the complaint states.

The bag was turned over to the school principal, who was on the phone with police dispatchers when Ashley walked into her office appearing "white and out of breath" and saying he had come for his backpack, according to the complaint.

Tribune reporter Michael Gisick also contributed to this report.