SHIELDS OF SHAME | SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY
Bryan James Aspera: Rome High School Teacher, Student Sexual Assault Case and Wrestling Ban
A history teacher and wrestling coach, allegations involving a student, a Georgia prison sentence and a permanent USA Wrestling ineligibility listing.
A case that began years before the arrest
In March 2017, Rome Police publicly described an investigation involving Bryan James Aspera, identified in contemporary reporting as a Rome High School history teacher and wrestling coach. Police alleged a sexual relationship involving a female student who was a minor during the period under investigation. Local reports described allegations dating to the 2011–2013 school years. These descriptions are attributed to police and contemporaneous reporting, rather than presented as findings about every underlying event.
Read contemporary reporting of the Rome Police statement ↗
The March 2017 arrest
A Floyd County Sheriff’s Office booking report dated March 24, 2017 lists Aspera and cites O.C.G.A. § 16-6-5.1(b)(1), describing a school-related sexual-assault felony charge. The booking entry is evidence of an arrest and alleged offense, not a substitute for a certified criminal judgment.
Georgia Department of Corrections records
A Georgia DOC profile identifies Bryan James Aspera, GDC ID 1002158699, and lists Floyd County as the conviction county, an offense date of September 1, 2011, and a ten-year sentence. Its incarceration history runs from December 5, 2017 to October 24, 2021, the listed actual release date. The precise conviction language, plea or verdict and sentencing conditions should be checked against the certified Superior Court disposition.
USA Wrestling’s permanent ineligibility list
USA Wrestling’s official list identifies Bryan Aspera of Georgia as permanently ineligible under the category Sexual Misconduct. The public listing does not itself provide the full disciplinary decision or an effective date.
View USA Wrestling’s official list ↗
Case timeline
- 2011–2013: Period of alleged misconduct described in contemporaneous police reporting.
- March 2017: Rome Police investigation becomes public; Floyd County booking report records an arrest.
- December 2017: Start of the incarceration period listed by Georgia DOC.
- October 2021: Actual release date listed by Georgia DOC.
- Official sporting sanction: USA Wrestling lists Aspera as permanently ineligible.
Original records and media
The Georgia Department of Corrections profile and Floyd County booking report appear below. The images are historical public-record materials; the booking report is not proof of conviction on every charged allegation.
What still needs to be established
The available materials do not establish when school administrators first learned of the allegations, what employment or licensing action followed, or the complete terms of the final criminal judgment. Those questions warrant examination of the Floyd County Superior Court disposition, Rome City Schools records, Georgia educator certification records and any releasable USA Wrestling disciplinary findings. No student is identified in this report.
Shields of Shame | Primary records, attributed reporting and open questions are distinguished throughout. Documentary corrections and responses are welcome.