A Columbia woman and former Region 19 school district employee pleaded guilty to a federal charge stemming from her repeated sexual assault of an 11-year-old boy, officials say.
In a news release, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut David Sullivan said Alyson Cranick, 44, pleaded guilty on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
Sullivan said Cranick, first using text messaging and Snapchat, and then using the internet chat service Discord, coerced an 11-year-old boy to engage in sexually explicit conduct with her. Cranick was an administrative assistant for Region 19 schools at the time.
Over the summer and into the fall of 2022, Sullivan said, Cranick encouraged the minor to sneak out of his house after midnight to meet up with her and the two then engaged in sexual acts. The boy also allegedly "snuck out of his house on at least 14 occasions" during the night to meet with Cranick and then have sex with her, according to Cranick's arrest affidavit.
Sullivan said Cranick exchanged more than 4,700 messages with the minor on Discord between July and October 2022. He said she was arrested on related state charges on Nov. 14, 2023, and has been detained since Nov. 28 of that year.
Cranick was federally charged in July 2024. Her sentencing has been scheduled for Feb. 12, where she faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.
In the state cases, Cranick is charged with four counts of first-degree sexual assault and five counts of risk of injury to a child in those cases. She was released on bond but was arrested again after being accused of contacting a 13-year-old girl on Snapchat in violation of the conditions of her release.
