A Tennessee elementary school teacher who became pregnant with one of the victims’ babies and gave birth to the child has learned her fate.
Alissa McCommon, 38, was sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole on Friday for child rape, statutory rape, and sexual exploitation of minors, according to a press release issued by prosecutors.
She was also sentenced to community supervision for life on the Tennessee Sex Offender Registry as a Violent Sex Offender and ordered not to contact the victims. She’ll also lose her teaching license.
“These convictions and sentences 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, District Attorney General for the 25th Judicial District, in a 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 child is in the custody of the victim’s mother, Davidson told local ABC affiliate WATN.
In a disturbing phone call, she contacted the victim and stated that she would “raise and love this baby, and I’ll do it all by myself.”
She was released on bond in the child rape case, but was later arrested for alleged witness coercion, aggravated stalking, and harassment.
According to the Covington Police Department, 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 stated, “I will never text you again” and “You will never hear from me again.”
“Please don’t say anything. “I’m stressed out and scared all the time,” the caller said. “I tried telling you. We can stop talking when it looks like you. Please tell me you aren’t going to say anything. I will never speak with you again.”
While prosecutors in the Tipton County District Attorney’s office hailed the call as conclusive evidence that McCommon was pregnant with the alleged victim’s child, the suspect’s attorney, Jere Mason, questioned whether prosecutors had proven that his client’s voice was on the call.
“You need to go off…” What is the actual proof? There was no witness presented as a victim or anyone else to testify that this was her,” Mason told local NBC affiliate WMC.
Mason previously stated that the defense is frustrated by the “witch hunt on social media” and urged the public to allow the justice system to “do its job.”
McCommon was initially arrested on charges of raping a boy aged 12 or younger at her home in 2021, but the allegations expanded beyond that.
Authorities claimed that the former teacher befriended multiple victims by playing video games and interacting with them on social media, only to send inappropriate photos and engage in illicit sexual encounters.
McCommon taught at Crestview Elementary, according to WHBQ, the local Fox affiliate. She reportedly started working at Charger Academy as a fourth-grade teacher before being suspended without pay on August 24, 2023.
Authorities said the rape case came to their attention on the day McCommon was suspended after a parent came forward with the allegations.
USA Today reported that she eventually resigned from her job.
The defendant got herself in even more trouble while out on bond when she allegedly used an unknown phone number to communicate in code with a victim, implying that he would “regret doing this.”
“The actions of McCommon are not only appalling, but the CPD is also concerned about this apparent violation of her bond conditions,” Covington Police Chief Donna Turner previously stated. “Due to the nature of the communications, we are concerned others may have been contacted.”
