Tennessee Mom Accused of Trading Vape Pens for Sex Charged With Raping 9 boys

Melissa A. Blair, 38, was indicted by a grand jury on 23 charges, including 18 counts of Aggravated Statutory Rape, four counts of Human Trafficking by Patronizing Prostitution, and one count of Solicitation of a Minor.

McCinn County Director of Schools Lee Parkinson told a press conference Tuesday that he received an anonymous letter claiming Blair was sleeping with a number of students at McMinn Central High School.

He informed the Tennessee Department of Children's Services, which in turn contacted McMinn County Sheriff's Office, who obtained a search warrant for Blair's home, and went to interview her.

"The search warrant revealed additional evidence, and our investigation grew larger as more parents and victims contacted us," Sheriff Joe Guy said.

The charges relate to nine underage boys — but investigators believe there could be many more victims. Seven of the known victims are still juveniles; two more were assaulted while still juveniles, but are now adults, the Sheriff said.

Investigators claim that the assaults took place between spring of 2020 to late 2021, and involved teens aged 14 - 17.

"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," Sheriff Guy said.

While the Sheriff refrained from going into details about the items up for trade, one of the alleged victim's mother's told WTVC-TV that Blair offered her son vape pens in exchange for sexual favors.

"People focus mostly on the perpetrator, 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," she said.

"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."

"This isn't just about putting a perpetrator behind bars. This is about families healing," she added.

Blair was not an employee of the school, Sheriff Guy said, but had been involved through booster clubs, like many parents. She also previously had a child at the school, but they later transferred.

"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," Sheriff Guy said. "But most importantly we want to offer support and resources to the victims and their parents as we move forward."

He called on the parents of other potential victims, or the victims themselves who have since turned 18, to come forward.

School Director Parkinson meanwhile reserved a special thanks for the anonymous tipster.

"I wanted to thank the person who put this anonymous letter in my office," he said. "Without them, this could still be going on. I want to thank whoever that is — we encourage that when you know something's going on. Because it's difficult for me to understand how it went on for as long as it did in the advent of social media today."

Blair was released on $100,000 bond, and is scheduled for arraignment on February 28th. As a condition of her release, she can have no contact with any of the victims, and cannot go on school property.