Alyson Cranick, 44, of Columbia, was sentenced on Mar. 12 to 20 years in federal prison and ten years of supervised release for coercing an 11-year-old boy to engage in sexual activity, according to United States Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut.
The case highlights ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to address child exploitation and protect minors from online predators.
Court documents show that Cranick used text messaging, Snapchat, and the internet chat service Discord to communicate with the minor victim. Over several months in 2022, she coerced the boy into leaving his home after midnight on multiple occasions, during which she sexually assaulted him. Between July and October of that year, Cranick exchanged more than 4,700 messages with the victim on Discord.
Cranick was first arrested on related state charges in November 2023 and has been detained since late that month. She was federally charged in July 2024 and pleaded guilty on November 18, 2025, to coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force—which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement—and the Connecticut State Police’s Eastern District Major Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel E. Cummings and Katherine E. Boyles prosecuted the case through the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative.
Sullivan thanked the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Tolland for its cooperation during the investigation and prosecution. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at www.justice.gov/psc. Reports of child exploitation can be made at www.cybertipline.com.
