Ex-Connecticut School Employee Accused of Sexually Abusing Young Boy

A former Connecticut school employee has been arrested and charged with sexually abusing an 11-year-old boy. Allyson Cranick, of Columbia, Conn., is accused of convincing the child to sneak out of his family’s home over a dozen times for sexual encounters. The alleged relationship lasted for about two months. The 42-year-old educator is facing two counts of first-degree sexual assault and three counts of risk of injury to a child.

According to the arrest documents, the young victim told police “he and Cranick communicated on iMessage and SnapChat” during the summer of 2022 and that he “snuck out of his house on at least 14 occasions during the overnight hours to meet with Cranick.” Cranick waited for the victim by “hiding behind a bush on a neighbor’s property or walking up to his house,” authorities said. The boy told police the two then “had sexual intercourse in her vehicle.” Authorities were first alerted to the alleged abuse after a relative of the victim told police the boy said he had been in a “sexual relationship” with Cranick during July and August of last year.

Cranick was an administrative assistant for the Region 19 school district, but her employment was terminated following a state Department of Children and Families investigation. In a statement, district officials acknowledged that a “former Columbia Public School employee was arrested for sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.”

Cranick is being held on a $500,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in state Superior Court in Tolland.