A concerned parent reached out to me with information about former Prestonwood Christian Academy, current Liberty Christian School assistant football coach, Gabe Eliserio. Last school year, this parent looked into the background of Eliserio and other Prestonwood coaches, and found a criminal history for Eliserio in Arizona.
Gabe Rene Eliserio is from Phoenix, Arizona. He attended and played football at Eastern Arizona College where he was the quarterback. He left there to finish his college football career and education at Sterling College in Kansas. After college he went on to coach. He began his football coaching career at Dordt University (formerly Dordt College) in Sioux Center, lowa. After Dordt, he had coaching jobs at Sterling College, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, and Oklahoma Baptist University.
After Oklahoma Baptist University, Eliserio was hired to be a defensive coordinator at Prestonwood Christian Academy (PCA) for the 2025-26 school year. During the school year, the concerned parent who did the background checks, brought Eliserio’s criminal history to the attention of PCA administrators. After that notification, Eliserio left PCA during the school year in March 2026.
On March 31, 2026, Liberty Christian School announced the hiring of Gabe Eliserio as a football defensive coordinator and safeties coach.
Arizona court records show that Gabe Eliserio was charged on 12/22/2005 for sexual abuse. On March 21, 2006 Eliserio entered a guilty plea in a plea agreement. Jail/prison time is entered in the court records, along with community service and probation. There is also record of a civil lawsuit with Gabe Eliserio, Eastern Arizona College, and Eastern Arizona College District listed as the defendants.
In 2020, Gabe Eliserio filed a motion to set aside his conviction to restore his rights to own or carry firearms and civil rights. This was granted on August 3, 2020. In order to have civil rights restored, the felon must have completed all the requirements of the sentence, including restitution and probation. An order to set aside a conviction does not completely erase or seal/expunge a criminal record; the public record remains with a note that the case was set aside.
