Alissa McCommon raped a young boy and sexually pursued students after making friends with them playing video games, police said (Covington Police Department).
A Tennessee elementary school teacher who became pregnant with the baby of one victim and had the baby has learned her fate.
Alissa McCommon, 38, was sentenced on Friday to 25 years without parole for rape of a child, statutory rape, and sexual exploitation of minors, prosecutors said in a Friday press release. She was also sentenced to community supervision for life on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry as a Violent Sex Offender and was ordered to have no contact with the victims. She’ll also have her teaching license revoked.
“These convictions and sentence demonstrate the continuing commitment of law enforcement and the District Attorney’s Office to aggressively investigate and prosecute child rape and sexual abuse cases in this District, especially where there are minor child victims,” said Mark E. Davidson, the District Attorney General for the 25th Judicial District in the press release. “We are glad that we were able to achieve finality, certainty, and closure for the victims and their families and the Tipton County community in this case.”
McCommon gave birth to the baby fathered by one of the victims, and the mother of that victim has custody of the child, Davidson told local ABC affiliate WATN.
Law&Crime reported a disturbing phone call in which she contacted the victim and said she would “raise this baby and love this baby, and I’ll do it by myself.”
She had been allowed bond in the child rape case but was rearrested for alleged coercion of a witness, aggravated stalking, and harassment.
The Covington Police Department said that McCommon used a “specific code word known to the juvenile as a code word McCommon would previously utilize to confirm that the juvenile was alone, often before sending nude photographs on SnapChat.”
In the phone call played in court, McCommon allegedly said, “I will never text you again” and “You will never hear from me again.”
“Just please don’t say anything. I’m under so much stress and I’m so scared all the time,” said the caller. “I tried to tell you. When it comes out looking like you, we don’t have to talk anymore. Just please God, tell me you’re not going to say anything. I’ll never speak to you again.”
While prosecutors in the Tipton County District Attorney’s office hailed that call as damning proof that McCommon was pregnant with the alleged victim’s child, the suspect’s attorney Jere Mason countered by questioning whether prosecutors had proved that his client’s voice was the one on the call.
“You have to go off… what is the actual proof? There was no witness that was presented as a victim or anyone like that to testify this was her,” Mason said, according to local NBC affiliate WMC.
Mason previously said that the defense is frustrated by the “witch hunt on social media” and asked the public to let the justice system “do its job.”
McCommon was first arrested on accusations that she raped a boy 12 years old or under at her home in 2021, but the allegations went beyond that.
Authorities alleged there could be multiple victims that the former teacher befriended by playing video games and interacting with them on social media — only to send inappropriate photos and seek out illicit sexual encounters.
McCommon taught at Crestview Elementary, according to local Fox affiliate WHBQ. She reportedly joined Charger Academy, teaching fourth grade, where she worked when she was suspended without pay on Aug. 24, 2023. Authorities said that the rape case landed on their radar on the day McCommon was suspended when a parent came forward with the allegations.
She ultimately resigned from her job, USA Today reported.
The defendant found herself in even more trouble while out on bond when she allegedly used an unknown phone number to communicate in code with a victim, suggesting he would “regret doing this.”
“The actions of McCommon are not only appalling, but CPD is also concerned about this apparent violation of her bond conditions,” Covington Police Chief Donna Turner previously said. “Due to the nature of the communications, we are concerned others may have been contacted.”
Matt Naham and Alberto Luperon contributed to this report.
