Alyson Cranick, 44, has admitted to federal charges for supplying caffeine to an 11-year-old boy to facilitate sexual abuse late at night, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said that during the summer and fall of 2022, Cranick used text messages, Snapchat, and Discord to coerce the boy into sexually explicit conduct. She reportedly convinced him to sneak out of his home at night and gave him caffeinated drinks to keep him awake while she abused him.
Authorities stated that Cranick drove the boy to multiple locations, including Horace Porter School, and assaulted him in her car on at least 14 occasions. She also allegedly offered to buy him Apple AirPods and a plastic-pellet gun.
Cranick was first charged by state prosecutors in 2023 after the boy disclosed the abuse. She was released on bond but later re-arrested for allegedly contacting a 13-year-old girl on Snapchat, violating her release conditions.
Federal investigators took over the case in 2024, revealing that Cranick exchanged over 4,700 messages with the boy on Discord between July and October 2022. The boy said they switched to Discord after a family member planned to check his phone messages.
Cranick worked in the Columbia school district as a paraprofessional and later as an administrative assistant at E.O. Smith High School in Mansfield. She was fired following the state investigation. The Columbia School District released a statement emphasizing the importance of protecting students and maintaining appropriate faculty-student relationships.
Cranick, a married mother of two, frequently shared photos of her children on social media. Her federal sentencing is scheduled for February 12, facing up to life in prison, with a minimum of 10 years. State-level charges are still pending, with the next hearing set for December 19.
