Lynchburg Police Department
Amelia Tat, a former teacher at Jack Jouett Middle School in Virginia, has been sentenced to two years in prison after she admitted to having an affair with a 14-year-old student. Tat, 28, is a married mother of one who learned of her sentence on Monday after pleading guilty to two charges of carnal knowledge of minor.
What Happened?
Tat was teaching science at Jack Jouett Middle School in 2015 when she began exchanging messages with her 14-year-old student on Snapchat and Instagram. At some point, Tat confessed to having feelings for the teenager during an online chat. Soon after, she asked the boy to “stay late and help her after class” one day, which led to them having sex on school grounds. At a later date, the two had sex at her house in Lynchburg and after one of the boy’s baseball games.
Their sexual relationship came to an end eight months later when the teenager’s mother discovered messages from Tat on her son’s phone and called police, resulting in Tat’s arrest in June 2016.
As part of her plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss a third charge of carnal knowledge and an additional count of taking indecent liberties with a child.
Tat, who has a four-month-old daughter with her husband, Solomon, could have faced 20 years in prison had the case gone to trial and resulted in a conviction.
On Monday, a clinical psychologist testified t the Albermale Circuit Court Judge, Cherly Higgins, that a prolonged incarceration would have an adverse effect on Tat’s newborn baby. The Daily Progress reported.
However, prosecutors argued that the judge should also taken into account the victim. The boy took the stand during the hearing that Tat has robbed him of “a lot of firsts” and that he has suffered from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder following their relationship.
“She isn’t the only child that comes into play in this case,” the victim said, referring to Tat’s daughter.
Overall, the judge sentenced Tat to 10 years in prison but suspended eight of them. Her sentence will being on December 5 and will be followed by 18 months of supervised probation.
Jack Jouett Middle School
On August 29, 1977, Jouett became a middle school and housed sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. This completed the organizational plan of K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 for the county. Jack Jouett is now one of five middle schools in the county and draws students primarily from Greer, Meriwether Lewis and Broadus Wood Elementary Schools. In 1984, Jouett received national recognition as an outstanding school by the Good Schools Project sponsored by Delta Kappa Pi.
