"I Didn't Do Anything Wrong" | North Texas Mom Cleared of Child Abuse Speaks with WFAA

A Mother's Fight for Justice and Truth

Jessica Gasser is determined to tell her story on her own terms, as she believes the narrative others have created about her doesn’t reflect the reality of what happened. In an interview with WFAA, she expressed her frustration over the accusations that were made against her.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Gasser said, following a Tarrant County grand jury’s decision to issue a no-bill in her case. This cleared her of two charges related to injury to a child. Her attorney, Mike Schneider, has criticized the way investigators handled the case, suggesting that it was mishandled from the beginning. Gasser, however, admits that she isn’t sure if she’ll ever fully recover from the emotional damage caused by the ordeal.

In a 24-page affidavit dated July 2023, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office accused Gasser of medical child abuse. According to the document, she took her three-year-old daughter to doctors across multiple states, exposing her to unnecessary treatments and procedures. The affidavit also claimed that several healthcare providers had informed investigators that they suspected medical child abuse. As a result, Gasser and her husband lost custody of their daughter for eight months.

However, in 2024, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services dismissed its case against the family, according to documents provided by Schneider’s law office to WFAA. The family has since been reunited, and last month’s no-bill from the grand jury officially cleared Gasser of the charges.

“Every single medical issue that Jessica was concerned about is shown in all the medical records to be completely true,” Schneider stated. “And the thing is, CPS knew this, and law enforcement knew this. Some of the visits to the doctors that they complained about were actually part of a CPS investigation. Jessica was asked to go to a particular place and then got blamed for doctor shopping.”

Schneider claims he obtained text messages and email exchanges between investigators that suggest they knowingly mishandled the case in an attempt to elevate their profiles. “Fame is driving some of this,” he said.

When asked to respond to these allegations, the Tarrant County Sheriff’s Office told WFAA, “We respect the grand jury’s decision. We have no further comment.” Meanwhile, the Department of Family and Protective Services told WFAA, “CPS cases are confidential per state statute.”

In the 2023 affidavit, investigators also accused Gasser of searching the internet using phrases like, “Is lying to a doctor about a child illegal?” and “How do you fix Munchausen by proxy?” Munchausen by proxy is the medical term for a caretaker who lies about an illness in someone who depends on them.

Gasser confirmed to WFAA that she did search for answers to those questions. “I’m not going to say I didn’t because look at the timeline. That was after they had taken my child, and I had been accused of this. So why wouldn’t I want to know more about what I’m accused of?” she said.

Jessica shared a recent family photo showing all four members of their family: Jessica, her husband, daughter Ellie, and Ellie’s big brother. Ellie still faces medical issues, Jessica said. She will soon turn five years old.

“Any normal parent would do exactly as I did,” Jessica said. “If no one was helping your child, what would you do? You would go to somebody else who would. That is all I did.”