Melissa Blair, 38, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with the statutory rape of nine boys at McMinn Central High School in Englewood, Tennessee. The mom allegedly gave the boys – aged between 14 and 17 – gifts, including vape pens, in exchange for sexual favors.
Blair has been charged with 18 counts of statutory rape, four counts of human trafficking by patronizing prostitution, solicitation of a minor, and forfeiture of personal property, News Channel 9 reported.
Speaking at a press conference reported by the local outlet, McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy said that the alleged encounters happened between spring 2020 and late 2021. His deputies began investigating the case when they received a tip from the Tennessee Department of Children's Services in December. A search was carried out on Blair’s house that month, and she turned herself in on Tuesday after she was indicted.
Blair was released on a $100,000 bond later that night, on the condition that she stay away from her alleged victims and from school property. During the time of her alleged offenses, Blair was active in the school’s booster club, and had a child in the school system who has since been transferred.
“We are devastated at this point,” a mother of one of the victims told News Channel 9. “I cannot in words describe what it feels like to be going through what we’re going through right now. It is every emotion that you can imagine. And none of them happy.”
Englewood is a small town of just over 1,500 people, located in rural southern Tennessee. However, the salacious allegations against Blair have garnered national attention. Speaking at Tuesday’s press conference, District Attorney Steve Crump said that despite the media attention, “a case like this … is not about a headline, it's not about a trial. It's about trying to make as much as possible, our victims whole.”