A Hendersonville woman has been convicted of exposing children to the man who sexually abused them, wrapping up a case that stretches back roughly two decades, the Hendersonville Police Department announced.
A Sumner County jury on Thursday, June 18, 2026, found Stacy Dawn Alessio guilty of two counts of aggravated child neglect and two counts of child neglect. She faces up to 24 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 28, 2026, before Criminal Court Judge Dee David Gay. Alessio was arrested in January 2023, and investigators say the convictions stem from abuse reported as far back as 2006. Her former partner, Christopher Howard Alessio, was convicted in 2025 on dozens of child-sex charges and later sentenced to 162 years in prison.
In a post on the Hendersonville Police Department, the department praised detectives and prosecutors, writing, “Great work by our Criminal Investigations Division and the District Attorney’s who’ve been working tirelessly along with our detectives to ensure the victims get closure.”
The post says Assistant District Attorneys Nathan Nichols and Tara Wyllie helped secure the aggravated child neglect convictions. It also alleges Alessio “walked in on” her partner sexually abusing a child. According to police, she told one 2006 victim that the child’s presence was “like waving meat in front of a hungry carnivore” and warned that Christopher might be “dumb enough to take it.”
Public court dockets reviewed by Hoodline show Alessio is listed in Sumner County Criminal Court under case numbers 83CC1-2023-CR-482 and 83CC1-2023-CR-140, with a series of status and review hearings in 2024 and 2025, according to the Sumner County Criminal Court docket. The docket also shows related motions and reviews assigned to Criminal Court Judge Dee David Gay.
Prosecutors and Earlier Conviction
The investigation widened after Christopher Howard Alessio was arrested in October 2022 and later brought to trial. A Sumner County jury convicted him in July 2025 on multiple counts of rape and aggravated sexual battery. He was sentenced to 162 years without the possibility of parole on Sept. 5, 2025, after a five-day trial, according to local reporting by NewsChannel5. Prosecutors and victim-advocacy groups were credited with helping survivors come forward during the multi-year probe.
Legal Context
Aggravated child neglect is an aggravated offense under Haley’s Law (T.C.A. §39-15-402), and Tennessee sentencing rules bar probation for certain convictions in that statute. State release-eligibility rules also require defendants convicted of aggravated child neglect to serve a large portion of any imposed sentence, currently set at about 85% for aggravated child neglect, before they become eligible for release, per Tennessee Code §39-15-402 and Tennessee Code §40-35-501.
What’s Next
Alessio is due back in Sumner County Criminal Court on Aug. 28, 2026, for sentencing, and prosecutors have not yet announced a recommendation. Local reporting and police statements credited Ashley’s Place and OurKids Clinic for assisting victims and building evidence in the related prosecution, according to Sumner County Source. Authorities said anyone with information should contact the Hendersonville Police Department.
The case remains assigned to Sumner County Criminal Court at the Sumner County Courthouse, 100 Public Square in Gallatin, and public dockets list past hearings and upcoming dates. The court calendar and docket files provide the official schedule for motions and sentencing events. Sumner County Criminal Court docket.
