PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) -- After hearing testimony from a now 20-year-old victim, a judge denied bail for a Providence teacher accused of sexual assaulting the woman when she was a teenager. In September, Joseph Gannon, 50, of Warwick, was charged with one count of first-degree sexual assault and one count of producing or transferring child pornography. The victim told Judge Debra Saunders over a three-day period at a bail hearing, testifying she was a 15-year-old high school freshman when she and Gannon — her former middle school science teacher — allegedly began a sexual relationship that would last three years. "We are taught at an early age to listen to our teachers, that teachers are ready to teach us," Saunders said. "Mr. Gannon taught [the victim] about sex." Saunders recounted the days of testimony provided by the victim and said she believed a jury could conclude that Gannon groomed the victim for sex. The victim previously said that after communicating over email and phone the summer after she graduated middle school, it wasn’t long before Gannon started asking her sexually charged questions and they eventually made a plan to meet up. Gannon is also accused of producing child pornography. The victim said Gannon recorded them engaging in sexual acts, and when she asked for the recordings back at the end of their relationship, he refused. "He created a sexualized teenager who gave him the deviant sexual behaviors he liked as gifts," Saunders said. At the time the encounters began, the victim was 15 and Gannon was 45 years-old. Gannon's defense attorney, Albert Medici, previously said because the victim was at a different school over a mile away and that Gannon didn’t teach there, “there was no position of authority” when the relationship started. The attorney general’s office argued the victim’s testimony did show the relationship was “coercive” and that by comparing the size, strength, and age of the parties, it was clear the victim was not in control. Assistant Attorney General Meghan McDonough said Gannon was the victim’s middle school teacher for two years, but also supervised her study hall period where she would confide in him about her abusive home life and “suicidal ideations.” She said there was “years of grooming.” Saunders said she felt a trial judge or jury would be able to conclude that Gannon's behavior was inappropriate, that he ignored his role as a teacher to report the victim's alleged abuse at home, and added that he "manipulated and therefore psychologically coerced" the victim into having sexual contact. Over a three-year period, the victim said they had a sexual relationship until she decided what was happening “wasn’t right.” The victim broke off contact with Gannon when she was 18 years-old in 2022, and eventually decided to report the abuse to Providence Police this September. Saunders still allowed both the state and Gannon's defense attorney to make one last argument for Gannon's potential dangerousness. Medici said Gannon had strong ties to the community. He said he had no previous criminal charges, has a home, and some family who are supportive of him. He asked the judge to consider electronic monitoring instead of being remanded back into custody. McDonough said Gannon posed "a great danger to the community." She added that when Gannon refused to return the alleged sexual recordings of the victim back to her, he acknowledged what he was doing was wrong. "I would argue that there was some evidence that the defendant had attempted to recruit other students into their relationship," McDonough added. She also said letters from the victim, which the defense entered into evidence, were "in pristine condition," despite being years old. "This is years of repeated abuse at the hands of this defendant, collecting things from the victim: letters, cards, gifts from her, and her innocence," McDonough said. Saunders said she found the victim "highly credible," and that it was "likely" he would be convicted of first-degree sexual assault and face anywhere from 10 to 15 years of jail time for that offense. "I find that releasing Mr. Gannon on bail would pose a danger to the community, the community that he was charged to serve as a teacher of children," Saunders said. "I am not convinced that those local ties will keep him from coming to court to fail the consequence of jail for a likely conviction in this case." Saunders did not allow cameras in the courtroom for the bail hearing, but reporters were permitted to take notes. Gannon was sent back to the Adult Correctional Institutions immediately after the judge ordered him to remain held without bail, where he has been since his arraignment on Sep. 23. (No plea was entered at his arraignment, as is typical with felony charges in district court.) His defense attorney, as well as the victim, declined to comment to reporters after court concluded on Tuesday. Gannon was placed on paid administrative leave following his arrest, but Providence Public Schools spokesperson Jay Wegimont said he was later suspended without pay on Oct. 16. Alexandra Leslie ([email protected]) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup SIGN UP NOW