Melissa Marie Curtis, a former middle school teacher, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for sexually abusing a 14-year-old student. However, she will only serve one year in jail followed by five years of supervised probation. The victim reported the abuse to authorities, which resulted in an investigation by the Montgomery County Police Department. The abuse took place in multiple locations, including in a classroom, a car, and at the victim’s home among others. The victim also reported that Curtis provided him with drugs and alcohol on several occasions. Curtis pleaded guilty to three counts of a third-degree sex offense and will have to register as a sex offender. She will also not be allowed to have unsupervised contact with minors other than her own children once released.
Curtis has been a teacher for about two years in Montgomery County and taught at Lakelands Park Middle School. She left Montgomery County Public Schools in 2017. The sentencing judge, Theresa Chernosky, decided to suspend most of Curtis’ sentence, allowing her to serve only one year in jail. This decision has raised concerns among some, given the severity of Curtis’ crimes. Prosecutors did not comment on the sentencing, but the victim has shared details of the abuse, which began in 2015 when he volunteered for an after-school program run by Curtis.
Photo credit
www.usatoday.com