A former teacher in Tennessee has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to several s*xual offenses, including the r*pe of a 12-year-old boy in her home, which resulted in a pregnancy.
Alissa McCommon, who taught fourth grade in Tipton County, entered a guilty plea concerning charges related to five of the potential 21 victims in the case.
McCommon had previously been accused of assaulting another student in 2021. She pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including r*pe, statutory r*pe, s*xual exploitation, and solicitation of minors.
Circuit Court Judge Blake Neill delivered the sentence, with all charges to be served concurrently and no chance of parole. McCommon must also register as a violent s*x offender and is barred from contacting any of her victims.
According to reports from WREG, McCommon fostered relationships with her students through activities like video gaming, social media interactions, and friendships with their parents, all while exploiting her authority as a teacher.
Notably, McCommon developed a close attachment to one student, reaching out to him over 200 times and sending explicit images via Snapchat. She allegedly threatened to harm herself if he ended their relationship.
The investigation into her actions began in 2021 and intensified when a parent reported inappropriate texts involving her son in 2023.
McCommon was suspended without pay on August 24, 2023, and arrested on September 8, 2023, following a 23-count indictment for various s*xual offenses involving multiple students, according to Tipton County District Attorney Mark Davidson.
Although she was released on bond, she was re-arrested in less than a month for breaching her release conditions by contacting one of her victims.
During this period, McCommon informed one of the boys that she was pregnant with his child, expressing her readiness to bring the child into the world. DNA evidence later confirmed his paternity.
A judge subsequently ruled that McCommon would have no contact with the infant. The victim’s mother expressed hope that the newborn would be raised without McCommon’s influence, stating that she must face the consequences of her actions.
“The innocent child will be loved and raised without your influence. No punishment you receive can compare to what awaits you,” she said.
District Attorney Davidson praised the guilty plea and prison sentence, noting that it brings closure to the victims, their families, and the broader Tipton County community.
