U-M Professor Allegedly Stalked By 'Escort Massage Therapist' He Found On Craigslist
ANN ARBOR (WWJ/AP) - Records say a University of Michigan professor was the target of an extortion plot by a man who gave him a sensual massage.
The Ann Arbor News reports 24-year-old Mark Anthony Mitchell was accused of trying to extort more than $10,000 from the professor over several weeks. The newspaper reviewed records obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
Mitchell told police the two became romantically and sexually involved after the professor responded in September to Mitchell's online Craigslist ad for a "massage escort."
The 52-year-old professor told police there was no sex but admitted he did meet Mitchell at an Ann Arbor Red Roof Inn for a massage which he cut short when he began to feel uncomfortable.
"...I told him I was not interested in a sexual encounter," wrote the professor, who said he then paid the other man and left.
Over the following weeks, the report said, Mitchell called and texted the professor dozens of times a day, demanding more and more money, saying he knew the older man worked at U-M and that he would ruin the professor's career.
The professor, whose name has not been released due to his status a victim, said he eventually gave the masseuse around $6,000 to keep their liaison a secret.
Mitchell maintained he wasn't threatening the professor, but just wanted his money, the report said.
"I'm not threatening u just want whts owed I can send the info from when you bought sex as well lets be civil," Mitchell texted at one point.
"I never bought sex...U claimed to be a certified massage therapist," the professor texted back.
Mitchell pleaded no contest in an agreement with prosecutors to one count of stalking and one count of using a computer to commit a crime. Sentencing is Dec. 18.
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