Ex-Middle School Teacher Gets 30 Years for Sexually Abusing 14-Year-Old in Classroom and Her Car

Mar. 15, 2025

Melissa Curtis.Photo:Montgomery County Department of Police

Montgomery County Department of Police

A formerMaryland middle school teacherwho repeatedly sexually abused a 14-year-old student has learned her fate.

Melissa Curtis, 32, of Upper Marlboro, was sentenced to 30 years in prison on Friday, Nov. 15. However, a Montgomery County judge suspended the majority of the sentence, allowing Curtis to serve 12 months behind bars and five years of supervised probation, a spokesperson for the Montgomery County State Attorney’s Office confirmed in a statement shared with PEOPLE on Tuesday, Nov. 19.

He said the abuse began in 2015 when Curtis was 22 and he was a 14-year-old 8th grade student at Montgomery Village Middle School, where she was a teacher, the MCPD said.

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A warrant was issued for Curtis’ arrest on Oct. 31, 2023, and she turned herself in to authorities on Nov. 7, 2023, per the MCPD statement.

Curtis had been a teacher for approximately two years in Montgomery County and had also taught at Lakelands Park Middle School.

A spokesperson toldFox 5 DCthat Curtis left Montgomery County Public Schools in 2017.

If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.

source: people.com