Alyson Cranick is charged with sexually assaulting an 11-year-old
A former Connecticut public school employee is facing charges over an alleged sexual relationship with an 11-year-old boy.
According to authorities, 42-year-old Alyson Cranick is charged with two counts of sexual assault and three counts of risk of injury to a child.
And more charges are likely to come.
According to Connecticut State Police, Cranick turned himself in on Tuesday. She was arrested again on Wednesday – while still in custody. As Law&Crime has learned, the first arrest warrant was issued for alleged behavior in the summer of 2022.
According to the arrest warrant obtained by Law&Crime, the defendant is said to have had “a sexual relationship” with the then eleven-year-old boy in July and August 2022.
Content warning: Child sexual abuse.
On Sept. 7, state police were informed by a relative of the alleged victim about an illicit relationship between the boy and the now-fired laborer, the warrant states. A forensic interview of the child was conducted a few days later. During that interview, the boy said he was “sexually assaulted” by Cranick. He later said she “forced me” to have vaginal sex, the warrant states.
The boy and Cranick initially communicated via iMessage and Snapchat – and later moved their conversations to Discord after the defendant learned that one of the boy’s family members was monitoring his use of the first two applications, but not the third, the warrant says.
During the forensic interview, the child described in detail several incidents in which he and the defendant allegedly had sex. These alleged encounters occurred early in the morning, the boy said, and he would often sneak out of his house around 1 and 2 a.m. to meet with Cranick. The boy often told investigators that the two had sex in her car.
At some point, the boy said, the routine caught up with him and he was “always tired,” according to the arrest warrant.
“Cranick then bought him caffeinated beverages (energy drinks and soda) to keep him awake,” the warrant states. “[The boy] stated that Cranick had always volunteered as a supervisor.”
Alyson Cranick appears in a booking photo. (Connecticut State Police)
Police say they reviewed screenshots of nearly 400 Discord messages that confirmed the boy’s claims.
In total, the couple met at least 14 times after the boy sneaked out of his house late at night, the arrest warrant states. According to police, the teacher was “often flirtatious and sexual in nature” when she messaged the boy and “suggested he take a shower with her.”
“Cranick also sent [the boy] a picture of an alphabet bead bracelet she made for him with the acronym “BFFFLWB,” the warrant states. “[The boy] Cranick later explained to him that “BFFFLWB” meant “Best Friends for Life with Benefits.” In the Discord messages, Cranick told [the boy] not to tell anyone it was about them, and if anyone asks, tell them it means “Best Friends Forever For Life, We Are Better.”
Investigators also allege that the messages showed several incidents in which the defendant tried to “emotionally manipulate” the boy into spending time with her even though he didn’t want to – asking him to ask his family to let her letting him go fishing and allowing him to spend time with her Use Snapchat again.
More Law&Crime coverage: ‘I didn’t know he was a minor until yesterday’: Teacher charged with countless crimes after allegedly sharing nude photos and explicit videos with a 16-year-old student
State police interviewed Cranick on the same day as the boy’s forensic interview. The defendant allegedly “downplayed any inappropriate justification for communicating with the child” and allegedly said she just wanted to “comfort him because he was scared,” the warrant states. As for the seemingly flirtatious nature of her messages, Cranick reportedly responded that that wasn’t her intention and that she was just “a really nice person.”
The heavily redacted arrest warrant obtained by Law&Crime does not say how Cranick and the boy even met. He does not appear to have been one of her students.
The educator was working at a high school at the time of the alleged incidents and was fired as part of an investigation by the Nutmeg State Department of Children and Families.
“The employee was hired in February 2023, with DCF procedural background checks, fingerprints and reference checks revealing no information of concern that would indicate the individual should not be hired,” said Louis DeLoreto, principal of EO Smith High School, in to an explanation CT Insider. “When we were informed of the outcome of the DCF investigation, the individual terminated his employment with Regional School District 19.”
A State Police spokesman told Law&Crime they could not yet provide any information about her second arrest, other than that it was due to a New London Superior Court warrant.
The defendant made her first appearance on the same day she was originally arrested. She was given a $500,000 bond.
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