Former Charter School Teacher Sentenced for Sexually Abusing Teenager

By Laura Bream [former] - September 22, 2021
Court | Daily Stories | Sex Abuse | Sexual Assault | Suspects | Victims |

A DC Superior Court judge sentenced a former charter school teacher for sexually abusing a teenager. 

Joan Meyer, 46, pleaded guilty to first-degree sexual abuse of a minor for abusing a 14-year-old boy, beginning in 2009. 

During the Sept. 22 hearing, Judge Marisa Demeo sentenced Meyer to five years of incarceration, all but six months of which were suspended, followed by 18 months of supervised probation.

Meyer must also register as a sex offender for 10 years, stay away from the victim and undergo a mental health and sex offender treatment and evaluation, as deemed necessary.

During the Sept. 22 sentencing, defense attorney Jay Mykytiuk did not object to the conditions set by the prosecution. 

“To be honest,” he said, “I don’t disagree with anything [the prosecution] has posed…and Ms. Meyer doesn’t disagree either.”

“I understand now the impact of my actions and I am deeply remorseful,” Meyer said.

Meyers met the victim when she was an employee of Two Rivers Charter School and he was a 12-year-old student.

The victim did not appear in court but submitted a written victim impact statement. The prosecution called him “one of the smartest, most thoughtful, kind people I have ever met.” 

Judge Demeo made provisions in the sentencing to allow Meyer to return to Ohio after she finishes serving her sentence.

Before reading the sentence, Judge Demeo said the court was “struck” by the powerful nature of the victim impact statement. 

“He was just a child,” Judge Demeo said, “and so excited to start anew at a new school after a difficult childhood.”