Megan Ralston, 27-year-old child caretaker from Jeffersonville, Indiana, has been accused of sexual misconduct with a 14-year-old boy who was living at Childplace because of a variety of mental illnesses.
According to the Clark County Prosecutor Jeremy Mull, Ralston began a four-month sexual relationship with the 14-year-old last August. The 14-year-old boy stayed at Childplace, a center that provides adoption, counseling and other treatment options for children in need. Ralston was a caretaker in the cottage where the boy stayed and is accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with him on multiple occasions between August 2012 and November 2012. Court records said Ralston admitted to about 10 instances of physical contact with the teen, including two that involved oral sex in a cottage bedroom. In addition to sex at the Jeffersonville counseling center woman and boy also had sex in a Childplace Inc. van on numerous occasions.
Ralston told police she thought the boy was attractive and admitted to having romantic feelings for him. She also admitted to giving the teen $120 in exchange for a love letter she wrote him when he told her he was going to report her. But during a later police interview, Ralston changed her story, saying the teen forced her to have sex.
A school resource officer at Jeffersonville High School alerted police about the alleged relationship after talking with the victim. The boy asked the officer about laws pertaining to adults having sex with minors and when the officer probed further the teen told him about the alleged sexual relationship with an employee of Childplace, 27-year-old Megan Ralston. The officer also said he saw the student with a large amount of money. The victim said it all ended with the employee giving him money in exchange for a letter she wrote him.
Ralston appeared in front of a judge for the first time on Wednesday answering to two charges of sexual misconduct. Ralston is due back in late July. Her trial is slated for October.
The home released this statement Wednesday:
"Childplace has cooperated fully with all law enforcement and government officials and will continue to do so in order to ensure that a complete investigation takes place."
****
UPDATE MAY 24th: CASE AND SATEMENT DETAILS
When the student was questioned by the school resource officer about the allegatio he said he had been involved in a sexual relationship with Megan Ralston since approximately Aug. 15, 2012. The student continued that Ralston had given him a card containing $20 on his birthday in July and sometime after that she began talking to him about her adult relationships.
“He said sometime after Aug. 15, 2012, she began coming to his bedroom and initiated and performed oral sex with him,” according to the affidavit. “[The student] said this occurred several times over a period of two months.”
The child claimed Ralston initiated and had sexual intercourse with him in a Childplace transport van near McDonald’s restaurant on Charlestown Road in New Albany on Oct. 11. He also told police that Ralston had written him a letter in September expressing feelings that she held for him. The child reported that he had since torn up the letter, but had not thrown it away.
“[The student] said the ongoing relationship made him feel increasingly uncomfortable and he wished to discontinue the sexual activity,” according to the affidavit.
The child reported that he told Ralston that he was going to confess their relationship and that it was only fair she heard that from him, police reported.
“He said Ralston asked [him] to return the letter and offered him $120 in cash for the letter,” according to the affidavit. “[The student] said he agreed and traded the pieces of the torn letter for six $20 bills.”
A forensic interview was conducted with the child Nov. 13 at Family and Children Center in New Albany.
During the interview, the child gave similar accounts of his sexual history with Ralston that he had previously provided to police. His account with the forensic interviewer included nearly 15 incidents of oral sex at Childplace. He again reported other sexual activity in the Childplace van after he and Ralston had dropped off another resident of Childplace to work at McDonald’s.
During an interview with JPD Detective Isaac Parker on Nov. 7 at the police department, Megan Ralston stated that she had been an employee of Childplace for five months and that she first met the child when she was placed as a staff member in his cottage.
“[Ralston] recently heard rumors around Childplace that a juvenile, [the student], had manipulated her into kissing and ‘doing things’ with her,” according to the affidavit. “When asked if there was any truth to those rumors, Ralston stated, ‘some.’”
While speaking with Parker, Ralston admitted that her and the student’s relationship had changed during the preceding June as he had directed flattering comments at her. According to the affidavit, Ralston also admitted to approximately 10 occurrences of physical contact with the student, which included about two acts of oral sex on the child in the upstairs bathroom of the juvenile’s cottage at Childplace.
“[Ralston] also admitted to having unprotected sexual intercourse with [the child] in a red van, which belonged to Childplace, in the parking lot of McDonald’s ...,” according to the affidavit.
Ralston admitted that she had written the child a letter expressing her feelings, and to giving him $120, but the money was provided because he wanted to buy something for his girlfriend, a person other than Ralston. During the interview, Ralston said that she had not had sexual contact with the child for three to four weeks.
“Ralston advised she wished this incident would not have occurred because she wanted to help kids,” according to the affidavit. “She also advised that she knew he was 14 years old, thought he was attractive and had romantic feelings for him.”
A meeting was set for November 20 with Ralston, her attorney Bart Betteau, his assistant, Parker and Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Linda Lamping at JPD. During the interview, Ralston outlined the evolution of her relationship with the juvenile. She stated, according the affidavit, that the child had immediately show her attention at Childplace and that he spoke openly with her and would later tell her that he felt she was the only person who cared about him. She said that she felt the child initially had a “crush” on her, but as time went on he later became infatuated with her.
“Ralston advised [the child] forced her to perform oral sex on him,” according to the affidavit.
She said during their first oral-sex encounter, the child had motioned for her to go to an upstairs bathroom in his Childplace cottage.
“ ... Ralston did not want to go; however, she did because she wanted to help him,” according to the affidavit.
Ralston reported that she attempted to stop the act by pulling away and stating, “I don’t want to do this,” but wasn’t unable to stop the act, according to the affidavit.
She said a similar encounter occurred the second time the two engaged in sexual activity.
Ralston was then asked about the sexual intercourse with the child in New Albany. She stated after leaving McDonald’s, she drove the Childplace van to an area near Indiana University Southeast because the child wanted to talk. After reaching the location, Ralston and the child got into the back seat of the van. Parker noted in the affidavit, that Ralston could not explain why she went to the rear of the vehicle of her own will. She said while in the van, the child had removed his pants and she had told hip to stop multiple times, and he attempted to comfort her by saying “he loved her and it was OK.”
Ralston claimed that the child tried to hold her down during the intercourse.
“[The] child allegedly told Ralston that he felt as though he raped her,” according to the affidavit, and that the experience cause her physical pain.
Ralston said during the interview that she had not has sexual intercourse before her experience with the juvenile. Parker reported that at no time did Ralston report any of the incidents to her employer, seek medical treatment or tell anyone of the occurrences.
“She advised there was no evidence that could corroborate her story,” according to the affidavit. “Ralston also retracted her statement of being attracted to [the child] and had romantic feelings toward [him].”
In February 2011 
32-year-old 
