A former Tennessee teacher arrested in September 2023 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy is now facing a 23-count indictment for sexual misconduct against nearly two dozen other potential minor victims, according to police.
Alissa McCommon, a 38-year-old former elementary school teacher, was initially arrested Sept. 8 and charged with rape of a child.
"Our goal in any of these investigations is to identify any potential victims and provide medical assistance, counseling and support for their families throughout the investigation," Covington Police Chief Donna Turner said in a March 8 statement. "Without this vital intervention, the ripple effect of trauma can last for years with the victims and the family unit."
On March 5, a Tipton County grand jury handed down a 23-count indictment against McCommon "with multiple sexual misconduct offenses against minors," the Covington Police Department said in a March 8 press release.
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The Covington Police Department Criminal Investigations Division, Tipton County Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office worked together to identify 21 "potential victims" during their criminal investigation, the press release stated.
"Detectives worked closely with the 25th Judicial District Attorney’s Office prosecutors to present evidence in the investigation involving five (5) victims of offenses with substantiating evidence resulting in twenty-three (23) separate counts. The victims' ages ranged from 12 to 17 years of age," police said.
New charges filed against McCommon include rape of a child, five counts of aggravated statutory rape, four counts of sexual exploitation by electronic means, four counts of solicitation of a minor to commit aggravated statutory rape, two counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, two counts of coercion of a witness, two counts of aggravated stalking, violation of the Child Protective Act, tampering with evidence and harassment.
The former teacher pleaded not guilty on Monday, according to WREG.
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"We anticipated that the indictment would be coming," Lauren Fuchs, a defense attorney and partner at the Law Office of Massey McClusky Fuchs & Ballenger, told Fox News Digital, adding her team received discovery in court Monday. McCommon's defense will sort through those materials to get a better idea of what kind of evidence is included in the case against the former teacher.
Covington Police have said McCommon contacted former students online and engaged in inappropriate communication with them.
The first victim who spoke up about McCommon's alleged abuse, a boy who's now 15, previously told police that while spending the night at the suspect's residence in 2021, he awoke to McCommon, now 38, sexually assaulting him.
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After her arrest on a child rape charge in September 2023, McCommon was released on $250,000 bond until she was arrested again Sept. 28 and charged with coercing, harassing and stalking the victim.
The former teacher is accused of purchasing a phone at Walmart after her initial arrest to contact the victim.
The former elementary school teacher previously suggested in phone calls played aloud in court she may be pregnant with the boy's child.
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"I'm going to raise this baby. I can do this," McCommon can reportedly be heard saying in the recording, according to FOX 13 Memphis.
Tipton County Sheriff Shannon Beasley described the seven-month investigation into McCommon's alleged crimes as "lengthy and sensitive."
"With the crossing of jurisdictional boundaries, our detectives have worked closely with the Covington Police Department and the District Attorney General’s Office, as well as the School Board and Carl Perkins Center to reach these indictments," Beasley said. "More importantly, we have worked with our victims and their families in order to bring McCommon to justice, and we will allow the judicial system to run its course. For now, McCommon will remain in jail and await her day in court."
Police are asking anyone with concerns a child may have been victimized by McCommon to contact the Covington Police Department CID at 901-475-1261 or the Tipton County Sheriff’s Office CID at 901-475-3300.
