GLOCESTER, Rhode Island — On October 2 of last year, Alisha Crins sent text messages to her friends stating that her relationship with a male student initially began as flirting but subsequently grew out of control, according to an expanded state police arrest report obtained through a public records request by 12 News.
Crins resigned from her position as a physical education and health teacher at Ponaganset High School the evening prior to sending those text messages. She was charged earlier this year with two counts of third-degree sexual assault and entered a plea of not guilty. Her attorney did not immediately respond to inquiries on Thursday.
The Foster-Glocester Regional School District previously confirmed that the Rhode Island State Police Special Victims Unit completed an investigation into Crins. According to the expanded law enforcement report, which was initially reported by the Providence Journal, the 39-year-old teacher’s former student submitted a formal complaint of sexual harassment the same night she stepped down.
In the group text messages, Crins informed her friends that her resignation was required after the texts were disclosed to her husband and the school superintendent. She stated that her husband was disgusted and sought a divorce. Court records indicate her husband filed for divorce later that month, and a marriage settlement agreement was submitted to Kent County Family Court in December of that year.
Crins asserted to her friends that the electronic communications constituted sexting and that no physical interactions occurred. However, the state police arrest report challenges that claim, alleging that kissing and sexual rubbing took place between the two individuals. When questioned by a friend via text if she had discussed acting on the messages in person with the student, Crins responded affirmatively, characterizing the situation as an infatuation driven by the attention she received.
The school district previously noted that it was instructed to maintain strict confidentiality so as not to interfere with the state police investigation. District officials stated they will review the law enforcement report alongside legal counsel provided by the Rhode Island Interlocal Trust.
Police reports show that detectives conducted pre-scheduled interviews at Ponaganset High School on October 7, 2025, with Principal Amanda Grundel, Vice Principals Patricia Hill and Karlene Murray, and district attorney Gregory Piccirilli. Grundel stated that no formal disciplinary actions had been taken against Crins prior to the resignation, though multiple meetings and interactions had occurred regarding her behavior.
Grundel recalled that after a winter ball in January 2024, a chaperone reported that Crins was joking around and dancing with students on the dance floor. Grundel did not witness improper actions herself but spoke to Crins without formally documenting the complaint. Vice Principal Hill, who also attended the dance, stated she observed teachers participating in line dancing but saw nothing that raised a red flag. Murray indicated she was aware of two separate complaints regarding Crins.
According to the report, a second complaint involved a teacher noticing a student spending an excessive amount of time with Crins during hallway monitoring periods. Grundel subsequently instructed Crins to send students back to class in a timely fashion. A third complaint was lodged by a teacher in December 2024 who reported that Crins repeatedly interrupted her classroom to contact the student. Grundel also recounted an incident where the student missed his physical education final exam, endangering his graduation. Crins volunteered to proctor the test herself, which the student passed to secure his graduation.
Faculty members interviewed by police three days later recalled a Valentine’s Day incident where the student attempted to send Crins a cookie, resulting in Crins being reprimanded in the principal’s office. Teachers also noted that the student presented Crins with a bouquet of flowers at the winter ball. One teacher mentioned that following the dance, administration held a faculty meeting advising staff members not to touch, dance with, or take photographs with students.
In December, police received multiple tips, including anonymous reports alleging that Crins engaged in inappropriate behavior with both faculty and students, and that she permitted male students into her office and the girls’ locker room. In January, detectives interviewed Crins’ former hairdresser, who claimed Crins confided that she was barred from being in the same school wing as certain students and would enter a classroom to ask the student for his car keys to borrow his sweatshirt.
During an interview at her Cranston home on October 2, detectives reminded Crins that the age of consent in Rhode Island is 16. Crins acknowledged this, noting her role as a health teacher. She admitted to engaging in inappropriate sexting text messages regarding having sex when the student turned 18, and noted she sent photographs of herself in lingerie. She claimed nude photographs were not exchanged until after the student graduated. Crins admitted that in April 2024, the student drove to her neighborhood in Cranston and they kissed in his vehicle. Police verified the student was 17 years old and a high school junior at the time.
The student was also interviewed at his residence on October 2. He stated that the relationship began with favoritism and that Crins initiated contact after obtaining his phone number from his Instagram page. The student recalled that following the January winter ball, Crins told him she had been called to the principal’s office due to a reported photograph and warned him that the relationship had to stop to prevent her from being fired.
The student provided police with a lingerie photograph he received at age 17 and an explicit video sent when he was 18. He stated that he was permitted to bypass rules while in her class, that she regularly requested to wear his sweatshirts, and that she asked for a kiss as a birthday present during his junior year.
According to the student, Crins met him in his car near her residence, told him not to tell anyone, and kissed him for several minutes. He added that Crins continued to contact him to arrange meetings at various locations in Rhode Island, including a separate encounter involving sexual rubbing. When asked if sexual acts occurred on school grounds, the student stated that Crins attempted to do so, but he declined out of fear of being caught at the school.
The legal proceedings against Crins remain ongoing in superior court. Following her arraignment in February, she was released on $10,000 personal recognizance under conditions that included surrendering her passport.
The Foster-Glocester Regional School Committee convened Thursday afternoon to address potential litigation concerning the alleged misconduct. The committee approved a plan for retired U.S. District Judge William Smith to oversee an independent investigation into the matter.
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