Grand Rapids Woman Pleads Guilty to Three Charges

A Grand Rapids woman appeared in court to face three charges this week.

Thirty-year-old Melanie Lynn Pearson had been charged with only county of felony depriving another of custodial or parental rights, one count of felony third degree sale of a controlled substance and one county of felony third degree criminal sexual conduct. She chose to plead guilty to all three counts.

According to an Itasca County criminal complaint, Peterson allowed a 15-year-old juvenile male to leave the Northland Recovery Adolescent Unit in Grand Rapids while she was working an overnight shift at 12:30 a.m. on April 26, 2016. She intentionally delayed reporting him as a runaway until 4:46 a.m.

The report says Peterson and the minor had plans for meet at her apartment after he ran away. When the two met up the end of her shift, they consumed Percocet pills in her apartment and later had sex.

Peterson’s plea agreement calls for three sentences that will run concurrent with other: a one year and one day prison sentence for the parental rights charge, 27 months in prison for the controlled substance charge and 72 months for the criminal sexual conduct charge.

She is scheduled to be sentenced on July 26, 2016 at 8:30 a.m.