Former BYU professor charged with sexually abusing female student
06/26/2020 6:56 am PDT
via KSTU:
PROVO, Utah (KSTU) -- A former associate professor at Brigham Young University is no longer with the university after he was accused of sexually abusing a female student.
Michael James Clay, 45, was charged Thursday with two second-degree felony counts of forcible sexual abuse. Clay worked in the university's geography department and was in charge of the victim's program of study, a probable cause statement said.
"The victim considered [Clay] to be a mentor and a therapist," the statement said.
During a meeting with Clay, the woman, who is originally from another country, said she told him she “was having some emotional difficulties,” the Deseret News reports.
"Defendant told the victim that she needed to change her body chemistry and that she needed to practice how to be a good wife and that [Clay] could help her," the statement said.
At some point between January 15 and February 15, Clay took the woman up a Utah County canyon in his car and touched her inappropriately, the statement said. Clay is also accused of touching the woman inappropriately during a meeting in his office and ignoring three expressions from the woman that she did not want to continue before he stopped touching her.
"Afterward, [Clay] asked the victim if she enjoyed it. The victim said she did not and that it kind of hurt," the statement said.
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