Melissa Weber, a middle school teacher from Queens, has been charged with the statutory rape of one of her students, a 14-year-old boy whom .
According to the New York Daily News, prosecutors said that Melissa Weber, 27, who taught social studies at the Junior High level, seduced the boy for a period lasting from April 13th of this year to May 14th.
The pair reportedly met a total of seven times, usually between the hours 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. according to prosecutors who spoke with the Daily News.
The New York Times wrote that the boy’s mother was a member of the Parent-Teacher Association at the school where Melissa Weber taught.
After hearing rumors regarding an inappropriate relationship between the two, the mother sought Weber’s telephone number, and began diligently searching for any evidence in her son’s cell phone.
What the mother found, according to the Times, was a very large list of calls and text messages between the boy and his teacher.
The Times also reported that one of Weber’s most recent texts was an instruction to the boy to “erase” his phone, meaning to delete any evidence of their correspondence.
Additionally, Melissa Weber reportedly told the boy to keep the affair a secret, as she could “get arrested” and “lose [her] teaching license” if any one found out about the affair.
On Thursday morning, the mother went to a local police station with her son in hand to report Weber, who is now in jail.
Weber is waiting to be arraigned on charges of rape and sexual abuse, according to the news release sent out to press by Queens district attorney Richard A. Brown, who told the Times that the charges were “very disturbing,” before adding that the classroom “should always be a safe place for a child.”
If convicted, Melissa Weber could face up to seven years in prison, according to the Times
Our Take:
Sometimes I really do not understand what goes on through people’s minds. I’m trying not to be rude, mean, inconsiderate, etc., but why would anyone do anything like this?
Does the teacher really not know the consequences of a) a teacher having sex with a student, who is b) only 14 years old?
Was it a moment of carnal impulse, or was there a “deeper” connection involved, as in the notorious case of Mary Kay Letourneau, who was charged with statutory rape of a 13-year-old boy, but claims that they were also romantically involved? Well, Letourneau ended up marrying the guy, so maybe there was something there after all.
But that still doesn’t change the fact that the relationship was massively inappropriate.
And come on, none of these things can be used as justifications for actions like this. I hope that in time, the press could find out why Weber did these things, because I, for one, really want to know.
After all, who will go on to host “Hot for Teacher” nights once Mary Kay passes the torch?
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