01-07-2014, 09:18 PM
Teacher charged 25 years later.....
The *victim* waited until he was 41 to announce this.......
There are questions over what action a local school district took after a female teacher admitted to sex crimes with a student.
Prosecutors in Catawba County said they have no evidence the Hickory City Schools ever went to police or the Department of Social Services about the case from the late 1980s.
Darlene Melton must register as a sex offender and surrender her teaching license after pleading guilty to taking indecent liberties with a child more than 20 years ago.
Melton was only 29 when prosecutors said she began a relationship with a 15-year-old student at the Hickory Alternative School telling him she wanted to have his baby.
Now, more than two decades later she stood before a judge and plead guilty to a sex crime involving that same student.
"This relationship was known. It was known by the school system back then where the defendant was questioned about the relationship and admitted to it,” said Assistant District Attorney Michael VanBuren.
Back them, Melton left the Catawba County School District and went to teach in Forsyth County.
On Wednesday, she kept her head turned as her teenage victim, now 41 years old, told the judge how the case changed his life.
He said he still doesn’t know if he is the father of one of Melton’s children.
He asked Channel 9 to not show his face.
"My first drink of alcohol was by her. It gave me no self-esteem, no trust with women at all. I think one of the biggest things with me is tricking me into believing that a child was mine," the victim said.
Prosecutors said the victim came forward recently because of psychological issues.
Since there is no statute of limitation in North Carolina, the district attorney’s office agreed to pursue the case.
Melton declined to talk with Channel 9 after her sentence.
Because the crime happened in 1987, the judge was required to follow guidelines from then, which means no jail time.
"It was a different time back then, but I have no ability to change these facts. They are what they are and I have to deal with them," said attorney Michael Grace.
Melton had been teaching in Forsyth County for the past 25 years until the victim came forward this year.
Channel 9 reached out to the Hickory City Schools Wednesday about the case, where the leadership has changed since this happened.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/lo...ter/ncN8N/
The *victim* waited until he was 41 to announce this.......
There are questions over what action a local school district took after a female teacher admitted to sex crimes with a student.
Prosecutors in Catawba County said they have no evidence the Hickory City Schools ever went to police or the Department of Social Services about the case from the late 1980s.
Darlene Melton must register as a sex offender and surrender her teaching license after pleading guilty to taking indecent liberties with a child more than 20 years ago.
Melton was only 29 when prosecutors said she began a relationship with a 15-year-old student at the Hickory Alternative School telling him she wanted to have his baby.
Now, more than two decades later she stood before a judge and plead guilty to a sex crime involving that same student.
"This relationship was known. It was known by the school system back then where the defendant was questioned about the relationship and admitted to it,” said Assistant District Attorney Michael VanBuren.
Back them, Melton left the Catawba County School District and went to teach in Forsyth County.
On Wednesday, she kept her head turned as her teenage victim, now 41 years old, told the judge how the case changed his life.
He said he still doesn’t know if he is the father of one of Melton’s children.
He asked Channel 9 to not show his face.
"My first drink of alcohol was by her. It gave me no self-esteem, no trust with women at all. I think one of the biggest things with me is tricking me into believing that a child was mine," the victim said.
Prosecutors said the victim came forward recently because of psychological issues.
Since there is no statute of limitation in North Carolina, the district attorney’s office agreed to pursue the case.
Melton declined to talk with Channel 9 after her sentence.
Because the crime happened in 1987, the judge was required to follow guidelines from then, which means no jail time.
"It was a different time back then, but I have no ability to change these facts. They are what they are and I have to deal with them," said attorney Michael Grace.
Melton had been teaching in Forsyth County for the past 25 years until the victim came forward this year.
Channel 9 reached out to the Hickory City Schools Wednesday about the case, where the leadership has changed since this happened.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/news/local/lo...ter/ncN8N/