Melissa A. Blair.
A Tennessee mother is charged with being a rather prolific sexual abuser of teenage boys. A grand jury in McMinn County, Tennessee, indicted Melissa A. Blair, 38, for charges including aggravated statutory rape, according to Sheriff Joe Guy.
She allegedly contacted nine teenage boys on social media and offered them items in exchange for what officials described as “sexual encounters.” Guy voiced concern there could be more victims.
“The current charges are related to 9 confirmed male juvenile victims, related to incidents which occurred from Spring of 2020 through late 2021,” Guy said. “7 of the victims are still juveniles. 2 were victimized as juveniles but are now adults. We suspect there may be additional juvenile victims and we encourage them or their parents to contact us. There may possibly be other victims who are now adults, and we also encourage them to contact us. It appears that Ms. Blair was communicating with the juveniles on social media, arranging meetings with them, and trading items for sexual encounters with them.”
A mother of one of the boys said that according to her son, Blair offered items including vape pens.
“People focus mostly on the perpetrator,” she told WSYR. ‘They don’t realize how it devastates a family. How the families are at home, and we don’t know what to do next. I have no idea how to go forward with this.”
Officials said that Blair has never worked for the school, but her son used to attend classes there before transferring. She has also served as a booster club member.
The sheriff’s office got a referral from the Tennessee Department of Children’s Service on Dec. 9 alleging that Blair was having sexual encounters with boys who attended McMinn Central High School, Guy said.
McMinn County Director of Schools Lee Parkison said someone also left an anonymous note in his office.
“Without them, this could still be going on,” he said, according to News Nation Now.
Blair is charged with 18 counts of aggravated statutory rape, four counts of human trafficking by patronizing prostitution, and one count of solicitation of a minor.
Correction — 9:46 p.m.: The image caption in the original version of this article originally had defendant Blair’s last name as Guy.
[Image via Sheriff Joe Guy]
