A 56-year-old Knoxville woman is accused of molesting her boyfriend’s teenage son while working as a paralegal for a state agency tasked with protecting children, reports the News Sentinel.
Mary Lisa Woods is set to appear before Knox County Criminal Court Judge Bob McGee later this month on three counts of statutory rape by an authority figure and four counts of sexual battery by an authority figure.
Woods worked for the state Department of Children’s Services for more than 14 years. She was serving as a paralegal with the Knoxville office of the agency when, in 2013, she allegedly began molesting the 15-year-old son behind her boyfriend’s back and continued even after the boy’s father died last year, records show.
DCS spokesman Rob Johnson said Woods resigned in lieu of termination in February after a monthslong probe by the DCS Special Investigation Unit and Internal Affairs as well as Knoxville Police Department Investigator Keith Johnson.
Johnson emphasized Woods, as a paralegal, had no supervisory role over children while employed at the agency.