(VitalNews.org) – A Tennessee teacher has been arrested and charged with the rape of a 12-year-old boy. Alissa McCommon, a 38-year-old elementary school teacher and mother-of-two, was taken away from her home in handcuffs on Friday September 8 after an investigation into multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. She is accused of raping the boy, one of her former students, at her home in 2021.
McCommon was first suspended from her fourth-grade teaching role at Charger Academy on August 24, the day that a parent told the school administration about the alleged rape. During the consequent investigation Covington police say that several children came forward to complain of inappropriate behavior from McCommon. She is alleged to have spoken to underage boys on social media and played video games with them, before escalating to sending lewd photographs of herself and even asking to have sex with them.
Donna Turner, Covington Police Chief, told reporters that the police department are working closely with the Tipton County Sherriff’s Office on the ongoing investigation into McCommon’s activities. Turner added that authorities are also investigating the possibility of making arrests of other adults who may have been aware of the abuse, or even helped to facilitate it.
Some parents have questioned the school administration’s handling of the case, expressing dismay that they were only made aware of the investigation into their children’s teacher by way of a Facebook post two weeks after the allegations first surfaced. One mother told reporters that her son’s class had been presented with a substitute teacher and told that McCommon was not working due to illness. The mother added that she hoped the allegations would be taken seriously and not “swept under the rug”.
McCommon has admitted to making inappropriate contact with boys online but has denied raping the 12-year-old boy. Her lawyer has made a statement asking people to allow the justice system to carry out its task, and to avoid inflaming the situation further. McCommon is being held on a $25,000 bond and is due to appear in court on October 13.
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