Palm Beach Woman Who Engaged in 25 Sexual Encounters with a Minor, Sentenced

A Wellington woman who pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual activity with a minor has been sentenced in a Palm Beach County court.

According to court documents, Melissa A. Gannon, 47, was sentenced on Monday to one year in Palm Beach County Jail followed by five years of probation.

She was also sentenced to 50 hours of community service, continued treatment, no contact with the victim or the victim’s family, no contact with minors unless an adult is present and is aware of her probation and court costs

Before her sentencing, state prosecutors recommended a sentence of 5 1/2 years in state prison for Gannon, while her defense recommended no prison time. Gannon’s sentence in jail begins on Jan. 5, 2026.

Gannon Had At Least 25 Sexual Encounters with the Victim

Gannon pleaded guilty on March 24 to unlawful sexual activity with a minor and was designated a sexual offender. According to court documents, Gannon sent sexually explicit images of herself to the victim while law enforcement was monitoring the conversation in 2023.

Gannon is also accused of having multiple sexual encounters with the boy who was 16 and 17, while Gannon was 45 years old. Gannon admitted in messages with the victim to having sex with the victim at least 25 separate times. In Florida, the age of consent is 18. Following a monitored call, Gannon was arrested in Nov. 2023.

The state attorney’s office previously noted that, “the defendant (Gannon) engaged in a sustained and sophisticated pattern of sexual grooming of the victim and did so entirely for her own sexual gratification. Even after being told by the victim that they should stop and that he felt wrong in what they were doing, the defendant continued to initiate sexual activity with a minor who cannot legally consent.”

Defense Requested Leniency Over Gannon’s Mental Health Issues, Past Trauma Over Sexual Abuse Incidents

In court documents, Gannon’s defense attorney had proposed that she is not sentenced to prison time, adding that Gannon should be considered for a lesser sentence because she has a history of mental health concerns.

A psychologist who examined Gannon confirmed that she suffers from bipolar disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, other specific trauma and stressor related disorder and alcohol use disorder, which is in sustained remission.

Gannon was also diagnosed with post-traumatic stress “based on several instances of sexual abuse that she suffered as a teen and young adult.”