A married New York City teacher beamed with happiness as she walked out of the courtroom with a sweetheart deal despite raping a 14-year-old boy.
Melissa Rockensies, 33, was all smiles as she left the Queens courthouse on Tuesday, as her plea deal will see her serve no jail time but permanently hand over her teaching license.
The mother of three will also be ordered to complete a sexual predator program for two years.
She was accused of grooming a young student at her school and sending him a slew of sexual messages while she was in a years-long physical relationship that saw them meet for sex in her car.
Melissa Rockensies, 33, was all smiles as she left the Queens courtroom Tuesday while celebrating a plea for a loved one in the rape of a 14-year-old student
The married mother of two (pictured with her husband, who claimed she was innocent) will not serve jail time but will hand over her teaching certificate
Her teenage victim, who has not yet been identified, previously told the newspaper New York Post that his ordeal with the 33-year-old began when she started working at his school in mid-2022.
Rockensies began her advances, he said, by sending him a number of lewd messages, telling the outlet that he felt Rockensies had “taken advantage of him because of his age.”
Initially, their communication began via email and stemmed from an issue with another student, and he said he felt “comfortable with her.”
‘I was vulnerable with her. I’m smart, but I don’t make good decisions. I work impulsively. “If someone says, let’s do something, I would say, ‘Let’s do it,’” he said.
Over the next year, he said their relationship quickly escalated and she would send depraved messages in between caring for her children.
In a text exchange obtained by the New York Post, the teen claimed that Rockensies allegedly wrote, “You’ll be lucky if I put this kid to sleep.”
In another text seen by the outlet, Rockensies allegedly wrote, “I want you so bad and now I have to start reading children’s books like…wtf.”
She also allegedly wrote to the boy: “Study your technique and I will moan for you all day and all night, daddy” and “I want to be able to kiss those lips of yours.”
Rockensies allegedly began grooming the boy when he emailed her about an issue with another student, before her messages escalated and became sexual.
The teacher was accused of having secret dates with the boy several times a week, including on the school campus and often in her car.
The boy’s mother has since filed a lawsuit claiming this could have been quickly prevented by school officials, claiming signs of the abuse went unnoticed due to negligence.
In September, after reportedly exchanging hundreds of emails, the pair began messaging on Instagram, with Rockensies eventually suggesting they meet in person, the teen claimed.
She took the teen for a walk in the park after going to the supermarket, where she was accused of hugging the boy “very close” and then asking her to “kiss him.”
‘This came out of nowhere. I didn’t expect it since she said she has a husband and all. It felt weird like I had to hug her back. I hugged her. I kissed her. That’s how it started.’
The sexual abuse continued as Rockensies typically ordered the teen to meet her in her car before or after school.
“She would tell me where to go to meet her, where the car is parked,” he claimed, saying she tried to meet him every day except Wednesday when “she had to watch the kids.”
“Every time we met we had sex,” he claims, adding that she would allegedly give him gifts such as money and nicotine devices.
“Mostly her [gave] I money. The most she ever gave me was $500,” he said.
In her lawsuit filed in January, the child’s mother said negligence by Department of Education officials allowed the abuse to continue undetected.
The lawsuit seeks an undisclosed amount of damages and aims to hold school officials accountable for their failure to prevent this, the mother’s attorney, Jonathan Cooper, said. Patch.
“It’s really true that if we entrust our children to the school, we at least hope that they won’t be legally raped,” he said. The age of consent in New York is 17.
‘These actions took place regularly – approximately four times a week – in Ms Rockensies’ car in an area immediately adjacent to Corona Arts, including during school hours.’
Rockensies was accused by her victim of offering money and nicotine devices for secret sex, but her husband claimed she is innocent
In November 2023, the teacher claimed the teen threatened to “extort” her and accused him of saying he would “shoot her and her kids” if she didn’t pay him $5,000.
The student denied these allegations, saying he was banned from Instagram after skipping summer school and that someone else messaged her from his account.
After Rockensies’ arrest, her husband, William, defended the 33-year-old, claiming she was “innocent.”
Speaking with the New York Post, her husband said: ‘My wife is innocent. She is a mother of three children. She loves them very much.
“She was a big part of the community at her school. We all support her. We say she’s innocent. Why don’t I elaborate further.’
After a hearing in December, District Attorney Melinda Katz said, “These disturbing allegations represent an abuse of authority and a betrayal of the trust students and parents place in their schools.
“On behalf of the victim and his family, and on behalf of the vast majority of teachers who are committed to the education and well-being of our children, we will seek to achieve justice in this case.”
Rockensies previously served as dean of Leadership and Student Support at the high school and attended various educational facilities events with parents and students.
The teacher reportedly earned around $85,000 last year, with a Department of Education spokeswoman confirming that Rockensies no longer works at the school.
In a statement they said: ‘This alleged behavior is extremely worrying and completely unacceptable.
“This employee has been transferred to a separate location from the school and students pending the outcome of the arrest and if convicted, we will pursue dismissal.
“Nothing is more important than the safety and well-being of our students.”