Yaron Eliav, 44, an associate professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at The University of Michigan, awaits sentencing after pleading no contest to a misdemeanor charge of using a computer to commit a crime. The crime? Paying a 22-year-old UM Law School student he met online for sex.
The student also pleaded no contest to the same charge.
They pair were originally charged with prostitution/accosting and solicitation, misdemeanors punishable by up to 93 days in jail.
In April, the student went to an Ann Arbor police station to report she was assaulted by Eliav after they met at a hotel on the city’s north side.
The student told police she was advertising sex acts online via Craigslist to help pay tuition costs. For an in-state student, UM Law School tuition is $41,500 a year; out-of-state students pay $44,500.
The student told police she reluctantly agreed to allow Eliav to strike her buttocks with a belt, but got upset when he slapped her in the face twice. She said she suffered vision problems afterward, but did not have any lasting injuries.
Investigators were surprised that the student came to the police to report a crime that took place while committing a crime. Prostitutes with less legal training but more sense tend not to do that.
“Perhaps she should have cracked a legal textbook before coming in to the police station to talk about this,” Ann Arbor Detective Sgt. Richard Kinsey said.
Both she and Eliav told police they didn’t have intercourse, but engaged in other sex acts, and he paid her $300.
Eliav is under investigation by the University.
Via Ann Arbor News.
Summary:
An associate professor in the Department of Near Eastern Studies at The University of Michigan, Yaron Eliav awaits sentence for using a computer to commit crime; paying a 22-year old UM law student he met online for sex. The student also pleaded no contest to the same charge. Prostitution charges/accosting and solicitation was laid on the law student and the professor involved.