A former Washington, DC, schoolteacher is facing charges for allegedly carrying on a sexual relationship with a student — starting when the boy was 14 years old.
Joan Meyer, 45, is accused of abusing the student from 2009 to 2014, with the encounters continuing despite two separate reports of the inappropriate relationship, WJLA-TV reported.
The victim, identified by authorities as ZJ, allegedly met Meyer when he was 12, with the abuse starting two years later, WJLA said.
The first probe was launched in 2010 while Meyer was teaching at Two Rivers Public Charter School, which ZJ attended.
Youth Division cops concluded in that case that the allegations were “unfounded,” but Meyer was nonetheless fired from the school for “using bad judgement relating to her personal relationship with students.”
Meyer then started teaching at the Cesar Chavez Public Charter School — where the abuse allegedly continued and prompted another investigation in 2012, WJLA said.
Meyer and the student both denied the relationship at the time.
But when detectives interviewed ZJ in 2019, the then-24-year-old gave cops details of the ongoing abuse.
The victim told police that Meyer plied him with booze and marijuana, and said the two had sex in the teacher’s van or her house — where Meyer’s husband twice caught him.
The abuse forced ZJ’s grades to plummet, and made it hard for him to relate to other students because Meyer “would get jealous and he felt like he needed her,” according to a court affidavit in Meyer’s case.
The relationship ended in 2014 when ZJ was 19, although it resumed briefly in 2018.
He told detectives the abuse left him feeling “kind of aggressive” toward Meyer, as demonstrated by a series of texts messages he sent to his former teacher.
“Charles Manson would be proud of you,” one text said. “Filthy woman… How dare you believe you are worthy of teaching in schools.”
The police investigation led to Meyer’s arrest last week on charges of first-degree child sex abuse, the station reported.
Meyer’s lawyer, Jay Mykytiuk, denied the allegations in a statement to WJLA.
“Ms. Meyer vehemently disputes the allegations against her and we expect to mount a vigorous defense against the charge,” Mykytiuk wrote. “She has broken no laws.”
“I have no further comment, as I believe that cases should be tired in the courtroom, not in the press,” the statement said. “She looks forward to her day in court.”
