A Tennessee 4th grade teacher was arrested Friday and charged with sexual misconduct involving a 12-year-old boy.
The Covington Police Department said that 38-year-old Alissa McCommon befriended several juveniles, beginning with video games and social media apps, leading “to her allegedly sending inappropriate photographs and requesting sexual relations with the victims.”
Police launched an investigation on August 24 when they were contacted by the Tennessee Department of Children Services. As they began the investigation, McCommon was suspended without pay by Tipton County Schools.
Police said the McCommon “admitted to communicating inappropriately with former students” and said there was no indication that any of the alleged actvities took place on a school campus.
McCommon has been charged with rape of a child and ordered held on a $25,000 bond. Police are working with the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office to interview witnesses and identify other victims and say that further charges are expected.
Covington Police Chief Donna Turner said that investigators are looking “to determine accountability of other adults in the case, including those who were aware of the abuse, and those who allowed or provided location for such illegal acts to occur.”
The chief said she had also spoken with the United States Attorney’s Office and would pursue any federal charges detectives uncovered.
The British tabloid The Daily Mail reported that the single charge McCommon currently faces relates to a 12-year-old boy and that the incident took place at her home. McCommon is a mother of two.
WREG reported that McCommon was a fourth grade teacher of English language arts and social studies at Charger Academy, a pre-K through 5th grade school in Tipton County.
Tipton County Director of Schools Dr. John Combs told The Covington Leader that the investigation began when “a parent brought forth allegations of misconduct on the morning of Thursday, Aug. 24, and the teacher was suspended without pay later that same morning pending the outcome of the investigation.”
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[Featured image: Alissa McCommon is arrested/Covington Police Department]
