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Melissa Marie Curtis, 31, of Upper Marlboro, was sentenced to 30 years in prison with all suspended but 12 months to serve, followed by five years of supervised probation after pleading guilty in June to three counts of third-degree sex offense in connection to the abuse of a teen.
In November 2023, police in Montgomery County launched an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse that happened years ago after a now-adult man came forward and said that he had been abused by Curtis when he was still a minor.
The abuse began in 2015, police said, when Curtis was 22 years old and continued for several months while the man was a student at Montgomery County Village Middle School, where she was teaching.
According to court documents, when the victim was in eighth grade, Curtis touched him inappropriately over his clothing while in a classroom and performed oral sex.
Other incidents involved him being kissed on the mouth in the teacher's vehicle, being touched at a Montgomery County movie theater, having sex at her mother's house on two occasions, and once at his home.
"(The victim also) reported Curtis provided him with alcohol and marijuana and encouraged him to perform oral sex on her, which did occur," the court documents state.
Prosecutors say that at the time, the 14-year-old victim volunteered for an after-school program that Curtis was running and they were often alone together. The victim disclosed the abuse in 2023 and Curtis was charged following an investigation by the Montgomery County Police – Special Victims Investigations Division.
At the time of the incidents, Curtis had been working for the district for approximately two years and also taught at Lakelands Park Middle School.
On June 20, Curtis pleaded guilty to three counts of third-degree sex offense.
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