A Tennessee elementary school teacher arrested in September 2023 on charges of raping a 12-year-old boy is now facing a 23-count indictment for grooming at least 21 more children, according to police.
Alissa McCommon, a 38-year-old married woman, was first arrested Sept. 8 and charged with rape of a minor. However, further investigations revealed the elementary school teacher may have been sleeping with dozens of young boys at her school.
“Our goal in any of these investigations is to identify any potential victims and provide medical assistance, counseling and support for their families throughout the investigation,” Covington Police Chief Donna Turner said in a March 8 statement. “Without this vital intervention, the ripple effect of trauma can last for years with the victims and the family unit.”
Fox report: On March 5, a Tipton County grand jury handed down a 23-count indictment against McCommon “with multiple sexual misconduct offenses against minors,” the Covington Police Department said in a March 8 press release.
The Covington Police Department Criminal Investigations Division, Tipton County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office worked together to identify 21 underage “potential victims” during their criminal investigation, the press release stated.
“Detectives worked closely with the 25th Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecutors to present evidence in the investigation involving five (5) victims of offenses with substantiating evidence resulting in twenty-three (23) separate counts. The victims’ ages ranged from 12 to 17 years of age,” police said.
New charges filed against McCommon include rape of a child, five counts of aggravated statutory rape, four counts of sexual exploitation by electronic means, four counts of solicitation of a minor to commit aggravated statutory rape, two counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, two counts of coercion of a witness, two counts of aggravated stalking, violation of the Child Protective Act, tampering with evidence and harassment.
The former teacher pleaded not guilty on Monday, according to WREG.
The first victim who spoke up about McCommon’s alleged abuse, a boy who’s now 15, previously told police that while spending the night at the suspect’s residence in 2021, he awoke to McCommon, now 38, sexually assaulting him.
After her arrest on a child rape charge in September 2023, McCommon was released on $250,000 bond until she was arrested again Sept. 28 and charged with coercing, harassing and stalking the victim.
The former teacher is accused of purchasing a phone at Walmart after her initial arrest to contact the victim.
The former elementary school teacher previously suggested in phone calls played aloud in court she may be pregnant with the boy’s child.
“I’m going to raise this baby. I can do this,” McCommon can reportedly be heard saying in the recording, according to FOX 13 Memphis.
Police are asking anyone with concerns a child may have been victimized by McCommon to contact the Covington Police Department CID at 901-475-1261 or the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office CID at 901-475-3300.
