Former Teacher Sentenced for Student Abuse in 2015

Melissa Curtis, a former middle school teacher in Montgomery County, Maryland, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the repeated sexual abuse of a 14-year-old student in 2015, but will only serve one year behind bars with the rest suspended. Curtis, who was 22 at the time, engaged in over 20 sexual acts with the eighth grader, provided him with alcohol and marijuana, and was charged with third-degree sex offenses. She pleaded guilty in June 2023, leading to the sentence that includes five years of probation and a requirement to register as a sex offender for 25 years. The abuse occurred in various locations, including the school, her car, and at her mother’s house. The investigation began in October 2023 after the victim came forward, and Curtis was arrested in November 2023. Following her release, she will not be allowed unsupervised contact with minors, except her own children.