Alissa McCommon, teacher accused of raping 12-year-old student is pregnant, documents reveal
A fourth-grade Tennessee teacher charged with raping one of her former students said she is pregnant with the boy's baby, according to new information revealed in the case.
Alissa D. McCommon, 38, an elementary teacher at Charger Academy in Covington, was arrested last month by the Covington Police Department on allegations of sexual misconduct with a 12-year-old boy as well as multiple juveniles in a multi-jurisdictional investigation, police said.
Part of the Tipton County School District, the elementary school is located about 40 miles northeast of Memphis.
McCommon, a mother of two, was arrested at her Covington home on Sept. 8 and charged with felony rape of a child for reportedly molesting the boy, Tipton County General Sessions court records show.
The boy is now 15, Tipton County District Attorney General Mark Davidson told USA TODAY Friday.
McCommon was suspended without pay from her position on Aug. 24, the same day the allegations were brought to light, Tipton County School Assistant Superintendent Rebekah Byrd said.
McCommon notified the school district of her resignation on Sept. 14, according to a district representative. .
Bail, a no contact order and an alleged pregnancy revelation
New arrest affidavits obtained by USA TODAY show after McCommon's arrest, she posted a $25,000 bond with conditions she not contact the victim or any other minors besides her own children.
But on Sept. 28, police re-arrested McCommon after they say she contacted the victim after being released from jail, affidavits show. Tipton County Sheriff's Office records show McCommon was booked into jail on the new charges at 7 p.m.
According to police, as recent as last week, McCommon sent multiple text messages to the victim saying she was pregnant with his child and "he would regret doing this," arrest affidavits show.
On Sept. 29, Davidson said, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke McCommon's bond.
A police monitored call
Court papers show the boy's mother alerted police when she learned McCommon had been contacting her son via text on four separate dates after her release.
During a Sept. 28, police-monitored call and text string between the boy and McCommon, a detective wrote, McCommon identified herself to the boy, admitted to having "a sexual encounter with him, said she was pregnant and then threatened him."
When officers re-arrested McCommon on Sept. 28, the affidavit continues, she said she "did not have a phone anymore and that it broke into pieces."
McCommon now faces additional charges of stalking, coercion of a witness, tampering with evidence and intimidation of a child, court records show.
Her attorney could not immediately be reached by USA TODAY.
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'Raise this baby and love this baby'
During a court hearing on the bond revocation Tuesday, Davidson said, prosecutors played an alleged cell phone conversation between McCommon and the victim in which she implied she was pregnant with his baby.
In the call, McCommon said she was going to “raise this baby and love this baby, and I’ll do it by myself," WMC-TV in Memphis reported.
Davidson could not verify McCommon was pregnant but said the judge revoked McCommon's bond.
A Tipton County jail spokesperson told USA TODAY McCommon remained jailed Friday. The spokesperson said he could not confirm whether McCommon was pregnant due to privacy issues.
'Continuing criminal conduct'
Davidson said he was pleased with the judge's decision to keep McCommon jailed without bond.
“It sends the message we want to protect our victims and their families and shows continuing criminal conduct won’t be tolerated," Davidson said Friday.
The case, the attorney general said, remained under investigation Friday by law enforcement.
A preliminary hearing in the case is slated later this month, Davidson said.
'Multiple juvenile victims have come forth'
According to a criminal complaint on McCommon's rape charge, detectives were tipped off about the assaut when the Tennessee Department of Children's Services contacted police regarding reported sexual misconduct between McCommon and the former student.
The student, who was in seventh grade at the time of the alleged rape, and his parents met with police on Aug. 24 and the boy told detectives he spent the night at McCommon's house several years back, according to the affidavit. At some point that night, the boy said, McCommon woke him up and sexually assaulted him.
Police said "multiple juvenile victims" also came forward claiming McCommon befriended them and began playing video games with them online.
McCommon reportedly communicated with the boys through cellphone social media apps and allegedly sent inappropriate photographs and "requested sexual relations" with the victims, police said.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.