Grand jury declines to indict man in ‘revenge porn’ case

A middle school math teacher accused of illegally sending explicit videos of his former fiancée and her boyfriend has been cleared of wrongdoing, his attorney said Friday.

“He’s always maintained his innocence,” attorney Joe Mathew said of his client, Saul Eisenberg. “At the end, justice prevailed and the DA and grand jury did the right thing. He’s been cleared and has gotten his life back.”

Eisenberg, 29, was part of a complicated case that began in family court and ended up in criminal court last year after allegations of blackmail over homemade sex tapes surfaced. The case made national headlines after revelations the two couples knew each other through church.

The first couple — Leslie Amanda Hippensteel, 32, and John Ousley, 33 — divorced last year after four years of marriage.

The second couple — Eisenberg and his 25-yearold former fiancée, were going through custody proceedings over their 6-yearold child.

Both couples attended Grand Lakes Presbyterian Church in Katy. Court records show Ousley had been having an affair with Eisenberg’s fiancée and the two made consensual videos of two sexual encounters.

Hippensteel apparently found the tapes and emailed them to Eisenberg, who then allegedly texted them to his mother and stepfather. The videos also ended up on a pornography website. Publishing intimate videos without permission, especially of a former lover, is sometimes called “revenge porn.”

Hippensteel and Eisenberg were facing a misdemeanor charge of unlawful disclosure of intimate visual material. If convicted, both could have been sentenced to a year in jail.

Eisenberg’s attorney said a Harris County grand jury declined to indict the teacher, effectively clearing him of wrongdoing.

In April, Hippensteel accepted an offer of pretrial intervention, a form of probation. If she stays out of trouble for a year, the case will be dismissed. She could then have it expunged from her criminal history.

The case exploded across social media in November when Hippensteel was arrested for allegedly blackmailing Ousley with the sex tapes.

Ousley called the police after Hippensteel allegedly told him during their divorce proceedings that she would send the recordings to his employer, Houston Christian High School, if he did not pay her.

Ousley said he gave her $7,812.21. Hippensteel allegedly sent the sex tape to her ex-husband’s employer and Eisenberg after being paid.

Eisenberg was accused of forwarding the recordings to his mother and stepfather.

Ousley said last year that he resigned from his job after he was confronted about the recordings.