Ex-Queens teacher sued over student's statutory rape

Former Queens social studies teacher Melissa Weber, of Bellport, who admitted to the statutory rape of a 14-year-old boy who was her student, has been sued by the boy's mother.

The complaint, filed in state Supreme Court in Queens two weeks ago, names Weber and the city Department of Education for an unspecified amount of damages.

According to the complaint, the boy, a student at IS 8 in Jamaica, suffered "severe and serious personal injuries" after having an ongoing sexual relationship with Weber, 28, at the school, said family lawyer Adam Orlow, of Flushing.

The assaults took place between January and May 2009. The boy's mother was alerted by a suspicious teacher and a parent, said Orlow. "A parent on a school trip saw some behavior that was inappropriate. And a teacher notified the mother that her son was spending an inordinate amount of time with Ms. Weber," he said.

The mother then spoke with the assistant principal, and that day she checked her son's text messages "and found content that clearly showed a relationship," said Orlow. The mother then called police to make a complaint, he said.

Weber was a social studies teacher at the middle school in Queens when the inappropriate actions took place, officials said. She admitted to having had sex with the boy, whose identity has not been revealed, on seven occasions between April 13 and May 14, 2009, and between the hours of 3 and 6 p.m.

The student is currently undergoing therapy and "as he gets older it will get worse as he realizes that he was taken advantage of," said Orlow.

Weber, whose home telephone was disconnected, served three months of jail time before she was released on 10 years' probation, according the Queens district attorney's office. She also was ordered to register as a sex offender for 20 years.

The conviction led to an automatic revocation of her teaching license, officials said.

With John Valenti