(WHDH) — A 38-year-old woman is facing a slew of charges after authorities say she exchanged items for sexual encounters with high school students in McMinn County, Tennessee.
A McMinn County Grand Jury indicted Melissa Blair, of Englewood, on 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 announced last Tuesday.
The sheriff’s office received a referral from the Tenn. Department of Children’s Services on Dec. 9, 2021, that indicated that Blair had been having sexual encounters with male juveniles who were students at McMinn Central High School, Guy said.
On Dec. 15, detectives spoke with Blair before executing a search warrant at her home.
Additionally, a letter from the director of McMinn County Schools was served to Blair, banning her from school property or any school activities.
“The search warrant revealed additional evidence, and our investigation grew larger as more parents and victims contacted us,” Guy said. “We were finally able to present the case to the Grand Jury on February 15, upon which the indictments were issued.”
Guy added that the sheriff’s office identified nine victims related to incidents that occurred from spring of 2020 to late 2021. Seven of those victims are still juveniles, while the other two victims are now adults but were juveniles when victimized.
“We suspect there may be additional juvenile victims and we encourage them or their parents to contact us,” Guy said. “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.”
He went on to say, “This type of case is difficult and shocking even to seasoned detectives, and I want to commend our staff for the many hours of identifying, locating, and interviewing victims and their families, collecting physical and electronic evidence, as well as the many days of putting together the search warrant and subsequent case file. But most importantly we want to offer support and resources to the victims and their parents as we move forward.”
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