A former middle school educator from Maryland, who engaged in repeated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old student, has received her sentence.
On Friday, Nov. 15, a 32-year-old woman from Upper Marlboro, Melissa Curtis, received a 30-year prison sentence. A Montgomery County judge has decided to suspend most of the sentence, permitting Curtis to spend 12 months in prison along with five years of supervised probation, as confirmed by a spokesperson for the Montgomery County State Attorney’s Office in a statement released on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
After her release, Curtis must register as a sex offender for a duration of 25 years, according to the statement. She will additionally be restricted from having unsupervised interactions with minors, except for her own children. Curtis admitted guilt to “three counts of third-degree sex offense” on June 20, according to the statement.
In October 2023, authorities launched an investigation following the report of sexual abuse made by the now-adult victim, according to a prior statement from the Montgomery County Police Department.
The allegations indicate that the misconduct started in 2015 when Curtis was 22 years old, while the victim was a 14-year-old 8th grader at Montgomery Village Middle School, where she served as a teacher, according to the MCPD.
According to charging documents acquired by DC News Now, the victim alleged that Curtis engaged in sexual abuse in various locations, including a classroom, a car, at her mother’s residence, and at his own home. The individual also reported that Curtis engaged in sexual acts with him on over 20 occasions.
Authorities issued a warrant for Curtis’ arrest on October 31, 2023. She subsequently surrendered to law enforcement on November 7, 2023, according to the statement from MCPD.
Curtis had spent around two years as an educator in Montgomery County and had previously taught at Lakelands Park Middle School.