Tennessee woman, 38, faces 23 charges involving sexual encounters with high school minors
A Tennessee woman who police say traded items for sexual encounters has been charged with statutory rape involving nine underaged male high school students.
The woman, Melissa Blair, 38, of Englewood, was charged Feb. 15 with 18 counts of aggravated statutory rape, four counts of human trafficking by patronizing prostitution and one count of solicitation of a minor, McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy said in a news release on Facebook.
Blair, who news outlets reported is a parent and involved in booster clubs at McMinn County Central High School, met and arranged meetings with the juveniles on social media, and traded items for sexual encounters, police said.
A mother of one of the victims – she wished to remain nameless for the sake of her son – told WTVC, an ABC TV station in Chattanooga, Tennessee, her son said Blair would reach out on social media and offer items, like vape pens, in exchange for sexual favors.
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“We are devastated at this point," a mother of one of the victims told WTVC. "I cannot in words describe what it feels like to be going through what we’re going through right now. It is every emotion that you can imagine. And none of them happy.”
WTVC reported Blair is the mother of a former student at the school, which is located in eastern Tennessee about 60 miles southwest of Knoxville.
"This case is difficult and shocking to even seasoned detectives," Guy said. "We want to offer support and resources to these victims and their families."
The encounters happened between spring 2020 and late 2021, he said. Two of the students have since become adults, Guy said.
"It is inevitable that there are other victims out there, most likely. We want you to feel comfortable coming forward," said Stephen Crump, district attorney general with the Tenth Judicial District, during a briefing last week, posted on YouTube by WBIR, an NBC station in Knoxville.
Victims and their families may be concerned about privacy, but "we encourage you to come forward and to talk to these investigators so that we can make the fullest amount of justice possible for the most amount of victims," Crump said. "In a case like this, it truly is about those who were victimized. It's not about a headline. It's not about a trial. It's about trying to make, as much as possible, our victims whole."
After a grand jury indicted Blair on Feb. 15, she turned herself in to authorities. Guy said Blair was expected to make the $100,000 bail.
Her attorney, Robert Kurtz, declined to comment on the case.
Contributing: The Associated Press
Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.